


A Lot to Learn

by vegebul_soup



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Comedy, Daddy Issues, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 13:21:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 56,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18283136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vegebul_soup/pseuds/vegebul_soup
Summary: When Bulma’s antics to get her absent father’s attention end up getting her expelled, she is sent to boarding school where she finds no one has a perfect family life. Boarding School / High School AU.** 3rd Place Winner for 2019 TPTH Annual Awards; Audience Choice: Romance **





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> special thanks to my beautiful, wonderful beta [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Bulma lounged in the plush chair that sat opposite the principal's large mahogany desk, her expression a mixture of apathy and irritation. She had been staring down at the floor, lost in thought when the principal repeated her name for the third time.

"What?" she finally responded as her bored blue eyes looked up.

"Why don't you tell your father what you did this time, Bulma," the principal's shrill voice commanded.

Bulma looked to her father seated in the chair next to her. Dr. Briefs was still sporting his lab coat, his lavender hair looking a mess. The stubborn cowlick at the back of his head swooped several hairs in wayward directions. Bulma frowned. She had been cursed with the very same affliction, but had spent years taming her own in her lilac mane. Bulma recognized his feverishly tapping foot as another annoying trait she had inherited from her absent father. His disheveled appearance and seemly impatient body language reminding Bulma of how seriously he took this meeting and by extension his responsibilities of being her father.

This was the first time she'd seen him in four days. He spent so much time in his lab or in the office of their family's company, Capsule Corporation, that she seldom interacted with him at all. Dr. Brief's non existent presence in her life made him more of a ghost than a father. After her mom passed away a few years ago, it was like her father avoided their home — and consequently Bulma — at all costs.

"I stole the master key to the school and threw a pool party in the aquatics center," Bulma informed him in a monotone voice. Her father raised a brow, but didn't appear to be upset whatsoever.

"And?" The principal interjected and Bulma shot her a glare before turning back to her dad. "And everyone was drinking," she grumbled.

"Oh dear," was Dr. Briefs only reply. The principal appeared to be a little stunned at her father's lack of a reaction, but Bulma wasn't, not one bit. She tried to hide her disappointment by returning her gaze to the floor in front of her.

"Dr. Briefs, we have a three strike disciplinary system at our school, and this is young Bulma's  _fourth_  strike. Her behavior has shown no improvement since our last meeting, so I'm left with no choice, Bulma is expelled from this institution, and she is to leave campus immediately," the principal's voice was stern leaving no questions about the finality of her decision.

"Bulma..." Dr. Briefs said seriously, and she looked up at him from the corner of her eye, wondering if expulsion was what it took to finally elicit a reaction from him. "Apologize for your behavior."

Bulma turned her head before she narrowed her eyes at her father, unsure if that would be it. "I'm sorry," she said half heartedly to the principal.

"Alright!" Dr. Briefs said, flipping a switch to his usual cheerful demeanor as he stood from his chair. "Let's go find you a new school, Bulma dear." Then he proceeded to walk out of the room.

Bulma scooped up her book bag from the floor and shrugged as she met eyes with her dumbfounded, now former, principal.

* * *

Bulma sat across the table from her lighthearted father as he typed away on his laptop keyboard. She angrily took a bite of her dinner and narrowed her eyes at him. She had literally been expelled from one of the fanciest, most expensive prep schools in West City and he didn't even have the time to lecture her? Ask her why? Hell, he wasn't even a little curious about how she could have pulled it off?

"There! All set!" Dr. Briefs said as he shut his computer. "I have you all registered at a new school, and the headmaster said you can start classes next week when the new quarter begins."

"Wait! Where did you sign me up? If it was Shenron Prep so help me, Kami, I will scream."

"No dear, not Shenron, I signed you up for Orange Star Academy!" Dr. Briefs said with glee. Bulma swallowed hard as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"But Orange Star is a boarding school, Dad!" Bulma squealed. "And it's upstate!" she added with disgust.

"I think Orange Star will be a great fit for you! It has a tough curriculum so you won't get bored and cause mischief. And since it's a boarding school you'll have your peers around and won't have to be alone all the time!"

"I wouldn't be alone all the time if you would just come home at a decent hour!" Bulma yelled as she stood up from chair. "We never spend any time together and now you want to just get rid of me altogether!"

"Bulma..." Dr. Briefs said sadly, but before he could say anymore his daughter stormed out of the kitchen and stomped up the stairs. He cringed as heard her bedroom door slam dramatically.

Bulma's father tried to sympathize with what she was going through. He too was a troublemaker in high school. When you're a genius and school is a breeze you have to find something to entertain yourself. That's why he never got mad when she was in trouble, but her reaction to his choice of new school made him wonder if he was way off base with his assessment of the situation.

Dr. Briefs sighed. He didn't know if he should go talk to her or give her space. Fathering a teenage daughter seemed more complicated than any scientific equation he had encountered. His heart ached as he wished his precious Panchy was there, she would've known what to do.

Bulma sulked as she threw herself onto her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She could care less about getting expelled, but instead of getting mad or acting like he cared at all, her dad decided to ship her off to boarding school. ' _Is my existence so bothersome he would just send me away like I was nothing to him?_ '

Bulma sobbed as she wondered how everything would differ if her mom were still alive. Her doting mother would never have sent her away, but her ever absent father never showed Bulma that he loved her the way she had. No home cooked meals, no heart to heart conversations, nothing. If anything he gave her money, but it just felt like he did so to get her to go away.

When Dr. Briefs actually was around, she was never really confident that he was listening when she talked. The scatterbrained scientist was always reading the newspaper or scribbling notes on a blueprint.

When she tried to help him in his lab, he insisted that she spend her time doing more 'teenage things', which Bulma took as a personal insult. It was like he was saying she wasn't old enough or smart enough to help him.

Bulma wanted to feel noticed and loved by her father. She thought helping him in his lab would make him proud, but instead it was just another way for him to reject her. That's when Bulma subconsciously decided that she would make him notice her. Cue bad behavior. But even that didn't seem to work.

* * *

The week in between schools dragged as Bulma spent the majority of her time packing her bags for her new life at Orange Star. Though the school provided uniforms, Bulma made sure to bring an ample amount of accessories and weekend wear.

She wanted to say she would miss her friends at her old school, but after they let her take the fall for the pool party they all threw together, she decided she didn't want them as friends anyway.

When the dreaded day had finally arrived, Bulma dressed in a cropped hoodie, matching joggers, and a pair of white sneakers so that she could be comfortable on the long ride up to her new school.

Bulma stared out the car window with the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and pouted the whole drive to Orange Star Academy. She ignored her father's attempts at conversion, if he really cared about talking to her he wouldn't be sending her to this school so far away.

When they pulled up to the school's front drive, Dr. Briefs put the car in park and frowned at his silent daughter. He thought he might have to fight to get her out of the car, but she opened the door and stepped out without protest, so he followed.

"I was told your personal belongings would be delivered directly to your room, so all you have to do is go to the headmaster's office for your schedule," he informed her.

"Fine, whatever," Bulma said tiredly. Realizing she wasn't going to give him much more, he decided to leave her be. He'd give her a call in few days after she got settled in.

"Good luck Bulma, I love you!" Dr. Briefs said as he gave his daughter a squeeze.

"Sure you do," Bulma mumbled sarcastically into his chest. Either he didn't hear or he chose to ignore the comment because he hopped into his car and drove away without another word.

She stared straight faced at the massive building across the drive with a sigh. This was to be her new school and home, ' _awesome_ ,' Bulma thought sarcastically.

The lavender haired girl ambled up the path that lead to the school's front doors. The quad was covered in grass with trees lining the pathway. Ivy climbed the walls of the brick buildings, the classical architecture adding to its old timey feel.

She navigated the halls with mild confidence and made it to the headmaster's office. It was Friday, so regular classes were still in session, and she found herself slightly embarrassed by her casual wear. Bulma introduced herself to the receptionist at the front desk who politely advised her to enter his office after a knock.

Bulma knocked on the door as instructed. "Come in," she heard a deep voice from within say.

She tentatively entered, gazing around the room. Behind a ornate maple desk sat a muscular man with auburn hair that stood atop his head like a flame, he had well groomed facial hair and serious black eyes.

His office walls were lined with bookshelves, trophy cases, and framed certificates. The rich colors of the room gave an air of sophistication, and seem to reflect how seriously he took himself and his position. The dark wood of the shelves contrasted against the shiny mental trophies, and Bulma wondered if all these accolades belonged to him or if he just took ownership of all the school's accomplishments.

There were no family photos, in fact there was nothing particularly personal about his office, save his name plate that read: Headmaster Vegeta Ouji.

Headmaster Ouji greeted Bulma and invited her to sit in the chair opposite his desk. They spent a moment on introductions and reviewed her transcripts that her previous school sent over. Their conversation felt light, but his intense aura never wavered.

"I'm going to be straight with you Miss Briefs, your academic record is superb. I'm sure you will excel at our school, my concern is your repeated bad behavior," he said as he narrowed his eyes.

Headmaster Ouji stood from his chair and walked over to where Bulma sat. "We at Orange Star Academy will not tolerate such inexcusable conduct, but if you mind your manners here, I assure you, we will get you into a top tier university."

"Understood, sir," Bulma replied with a swallow, trying not to be intimidated by his looming presence.

"Good." Another knock drew his eyes away from Bulma and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Come in," he said as he made his way back around his desk.

A girl with shiny, raven black haired entered the room shyly. "You summoned me, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, Miss King meet Miss Briefs," he introduced, motioning to Bulma. "She's a new student here and has been assigned as your roommate. If you could please show her around campus and help her get situated, it would be greatly appreciated."

Chi Chi looked over at the lavender haired girl seated before the headmaster. She was very beautiful, but seemed to have a bit of a resting bitch face. Chi Chi wondered if they would be able to get along.

"I've paired the two of you up intentionally. You see, Bulma here has excellent grades and Chi Chi has perfect attendance and behavioral marks. I hope you two can be a positive influence on one another," Headmaster Ouji informed them.

"What if I'm a  _bad_  influence on her?" Bulma mumbled sarcastically. Chi Chi couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, but both girls were immediately silenced by the seething glare the the headmaster gave them.

"You're dismissed."

"Thank you for your time, sir," Bulma said politely as she gathered her belongings and scurried out the door.

"And Bulma," the Headmaster called, "be sure to stop by my office after your first day. I'd like to hear how you're settling in."

"Of course," Bulma replied with a wave as she followed her new roommate out the door. His words were friendly, but his tone of voice and the look in his eye were absolutely no nonsense.

"Holy shit, that guy is scary," Bulma muttered to Chi Chi once they were out in the hall.

"Tell me about it," the raven haired girl replied exasperatedly, and the two shared a laugh as they continued down the corridor. Bulma decided maybe she could be a good girl at this school if it meant avoiding the intense headmaster.

Chi Chi escorted Bulma around the vast Orange Star campus pointing out the significant buildings and explaining some of their traditions. The halls remained relatively empty as most students were still in their final class of the day. The last stop on the tour was the school's library to pick up the textbooks Bulma would need for her classes.

They walked in the large double doors of the school's impressive library. Shelves full of books lined the walls of the multistory building. Public use computers and reading nooks were sprinkled across the room along with large tables set up for study groups. "Let me see your schedule," Chi Chi said as she lead Bulma towards the circular reception desk.

Bulma fished the paper out of her bag and handed it over, brown eyes scanned the page before looking up in disbelief. "Seriously? You're in all AP classes?"

Bulma smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "What can I say? I'm a genius," she bragged.

Chi Chi shook her head and smiled before telling the librarian that they needed the textbooks for all of Bulma's classes. After receiving an armful of heavy books, the girls left the library.

"I have to drop some stuff off in my locker and then I'll take you back to our room," Chi Chi told Bulma, who nodded in agreement. Not long after, the school bell rang and students flooded the halls. The lavender haired girl leaned against the wall of lockers as she surveyed the sea of people swimming by.

As the various cliques began to meet up and discuss their weekend plans, Bulma wondered where she'd fit in in the ecosystem that was Orange Star. Chi Chi was rifling through her locker when a group of boys rounded the corner. Bulma watched with intrigue as the crowds in the hallway parted to let the trio through.

She observed the boy at the lead, he was incredibly handsome, muscular, but a bit shorter than the burly boys that flanked his sides. His school uniform was immaculate, his tie perfectly knotted, not a wrinkle in sight. The only thing that marred his otherwise perfect appearance was a petulant, little frown.

"Who's that?" Bulma asked as she nudged Chi Chi. The raven haired girl peaked over her shoulder and spotted the boys, before she sighed, "Oh, that's Vegeta Ouji."

"Ouji? As in Headmaster Ouji?" Bulma spoke her thought like a question, but once she got a better look at his unmistakable flame shaped hair she knew the answer.

"Yeah, his son. He's basically like royalty here. Like if Orange Star was a magazine, he'd probably be on the cover of every issue." She smirked at Chi Chi's analogy, Bulma had been the pseudo 'royalty' at her old school. She wondered what the power dynamic of popularity was like here at Orange Star.

"So what's his deal?" Bulma asked with genuine curiosity, as her gaze followed Vegeta and his minions as they rounded the corner.

"Top of the class, captain of the lacrosse team, insane body, cocky as hell," Chi Chi rattled off before shutting her locker.

"Wait, rewind!" Bulma said turning her full attention to her roomie, "Why have you seen his body?!" Chi Chi blushed furiously in response.

"It's not like that! It's just sometimes I like to read out by the fields… ya know where the lacrosse team practices, and some of them practice... shirtless," she shrugged, averting her eyes in embarrassment.

"Ok, first of all," Bulma began holding up a single finger, "I will be joining you on the fields since you're promising sweaty, sexy athletes. Second," she continued, adding another finger, "do you have a crush on him or something? Why are you being so awkward?"

"A crush?!  _On Vegeta_?" Chi Chi said with a forced laugh. "No way! He's not the one."

"So there's a  _one_?" Bulma raised an eyebrow at her roommate's accidental confession. Chi Chi furiously shook her head and the lavender haired girl just snickered at her new friend's expense.

"Let's just go back to our room, you need to unpack and stuff," Chi Chi suggested, completely ignoring her question.

Bulma pushed off the locker she was leaning against and made her way down the hall toward the dormitory with her roomie in tow. When she rounded a corner, she ran face first into a brick wall of a human being, causing her to drop her books.

"Ow! Watch it, you big oaf!" Bulma sneered as she reached down to gather her belongs.

"Eek!" A paralyzed Chi Chi peeped.

"Hah, I'm so sorry!" the boy replied sweetly, "I wasn't looking where I was going. Let me help you!" He bent down and passed Bulma one of her books, she suddenly felt guilty for acting so bitchy.

"Thanks," she mumbled as the pair stood. The boy was handsome, tall, and obviously well built. She realized he must've been checking her out too, because he didn't walk away.

"You're new here, huh?" he asked, an easy smile slid over his lips. He was definitely cute but maybe not that bright. Obviously she was new, she's the only one not wearing the school uniform. "I'm Goku, what's your name?"

"I'm Bulma and this is my roommate," Bulma turned to find an oldly stiff Chi Chi standing beside her, "Chi Chi."

Goku slid his gaze over to the raven haired girl, "oh, I know Chi Chi," he smiled.

"You do?" Chi Chi squeaked.

"Of course! We've got chemistry together," Goku replied before he looked down at his phone, "Oh shoot! I got to get to practice. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"I sure hope so," Bulma said with a wink, and Goku waved before jogging down the hallway. Chi Chi exhaled a heavy breath, and Bulma shot her a knowing look.

"So he's the one?" Bulma accused.

"Is it that obvious?" Chi Chi cringed.

"It was painful to witness," Bulma laughed, "but he's super cute and nice, I bet you guys would be great together."

"Oh no, no, no!" Chi Chi shook her head. "He would never be into someone like me. I mean, like, look at him!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

It was the morning on her first day of classes, and Bulma was primping in front of a mirror when Chi Chi returned from the bathroom, hair done up in her signature bun.

"Oh Bulma…" Chi Chi remarked sympathetically.

"What? What is it?" the lavender haired girl asked as she turned to face her roommate.

"I bet if you tell them you ordered the wrong size, they'll give you a new uniform," she suggested innocently. Bulma looked down at her outfit. Her navy, pleated skirt only reached mid thigh, and despite her loose fitting cardigan, her button up shirt stretched tightly across her full chest.

She gave Chi Chi a sweet smile, finding her naivety precious. "This is how I intended it to fit," she replied with a light laugh. "This is how my friends and I wore our uniforms at our old school. It's a lot more flattering, don't you think?" Bulma gave the raven haired girl a twirl and a wink.

Chi Chi's face fell as she found herself agreeing with Bulma that the form fitting outfit was more flattering for her womanly shape. Chi Chi observed her own outfit, suddenly feeling frumpy under her boxy uniform. It hadn't really occurred to her to tailor her uniform to be more attractive. Her mother had constantly drilled into her that studying was the most important aspect of school and vanity was cause for embarrassment.

But now she didn't quite believe that, Bulma looked cute  _and_  she was in advanced classes. Why couldn't she have that too? Chi Chi wanted to look good and get noticed by boys! They clearly weren't attracted to her study habits (another fib her mother convinced her of at a young age).

When Chi Chi confessed to her mother about her first crush, she had informed her that boys were only interested in girls who got perfect grades. The raven haired girl wasn't able to test out that theory though, because 'coincidentally' her parents decided to send her to an all girls school the following year.

Sensing Chi Chi was musing over her words, Bulma offered "I can help you make alterations to your uniform if you want!"

She smiled, "I'll think about it. Let's get to class, we don't want to be late!" As the girls headed out the door, Chi Chi wondered if Goku would notice if she changed her look a bit.

Bulma meandered through the Orange Star hallways in search of her first period classroom. The buildings were organized much differently than that of her old school, she really should have paid better attention during Chi Chi's tour.

She considered asking someone for directions, but looking at the sea of unfamiliar faces made her too nervous. Classes would be a breeze she was sure, but not knowing where she fit into the social hierarchy was anxiety inducing. A sinking feeling in her gut arose as she realized she really only knew one other student at this school. Would people even like her? What if she couldn't make any friends and became a total outcast? What if this place ended up being even more lonely than home?

Despite the torturous thoughts plaguing her mind, Bulma made it to the right classroom. She handed her paperwork over to her new teacher right before the bell rang. All the judgemental eyes of her classmates sized her up as Ms. Fasha introduced Bulma to her first period Advanced Placement Calculus class. She tugged down on her skirt nervously, it became apparent in the hallway that Chi Chi wasn't an outlier when it came to her more modest skirt.

The teacher explained how the students picked their own seats which is why the only seats available were in the front row. Something about encouraging a more collaborative learning environment, but Bulma had stopped listening when she met eyes with the boy she had come to understand was the headmaster's son. His scrutinizing gaze was dark and unforgiving, and Bulma found herself slightly intimidated.

Ms. Fasha must have misinterpreted her line of sight, because she cheerful informed Bulma that she could take the seat in front of Vegeta.

"Young Mr. Ouji there is our star student," she began, "if you need any help catching up on the assignments, I'm sure he can get you up to speed."

Like a light switch, Vegeta's face flickered to a much softer expression as he replied. "Of course! I'm always willing to help my fellow students!" His fake smile only fooling their teacher.

She beamed at him before turning to the whiteboard and starting the day's lesson. Bulma took her seat at the desk in front of Vegeta, after mumbling "I won't need it," to him in a haughty tone.

Before she turned to face forward, she caught the wicked smirk that tugged at his lips. It was such a contrast from the goodie two shoes smile he gave their teacher. They barely exchanged a sentence and Bulma already knew this Vegeta was trouble.

As the lecture continued, Bulma noticed how Vegeta was always the first to raise his hand to answer questions and how Ms. Fasha seemed to adore him. She constantly showered him with praise, which Bulma imagined only fed his already enormous ego.

The way she saw him strut around school like he was hot shit on top of this odd teacher's pet alter ego was really pushing her buttons. So when the teacher wrote a complex equation on the board and invited someone from the class to solve it, Bulma's hand shot up lightning fast. She could feel Vegeta glare at the back of her head.

"Oh Miss Briefs! Why don't you come give it a try."

Bulma strolled up to the board with confidence, mathematics had always come easy to her and she had already finished reading the textbook from her old school making this problem especially easy. Ms. Fasha handed her a marker and without hesitation Bulma began writing out the solution.

With a click, Bulma snapped the cap of the marker back on and smiled at the teacher. She looked from her answer key to Bulma's work on the board and gave her a light applause.

"Great job Miss Briefs!" she exclaimed, "I'm looking forward to someone of your caliber joining our class." Bulma gave her a white, toothy smile at her compliment.

"Watch out Vegeta, we may have a new star in class," Ms. Fasha teased. Bulma flipped her lilac hair over her shoulder before returning to her seat. She was a star, wasn't she!

Vegeta was seething behind her. Who was this girl? Strolling into his territory and acting like she's top dog. No way! He was the undisputed #1 at this school.

"Congratulations on not looking like a complete fucking idiot on your first day," Vegeta muttered quiet enough for only Bulma to hear. "That equation was easy, I would feel patronized by any praise for solving it."

Bulma frowned, before turning her head to glare at him out of the corner of her eye. "Rumors confirmed. You really are a cocky jackass," she mumbled.

"It isn't cocky if you can back it up."

"I see you didn't contest the jackass part though." Bulma scoffed as she turned back to face the board, uninterested in entertaining Vegeta's mockery.

He stewed in her dismissal, ignoring the lecture to brainstorm a new way to get under her skin. An evil grin spread across his face as it dawned on him how rare it was that someone would start at Orange Star at this point in the school year.

When the bell finally rang to dismiss the class, Bulma packed up her belongs without sparing him a glance. Vegeta followed the lavender haired new girl out of the classroom, still determined to knock her down a peg.

"So, why'd you get kicked out of your last school?" he asked as he came up behind her.

"Excuse me!?" Bulma scowled over her shoulder at her rude pursuer.

"Oh c'mon, no one ever starts at a boarding school mid year unless they were expelled." He continued to needle her as he walked beside her, effectively trapping her between him and the wall of lockers. "So just tell me what you did."

"That's really none of your business!" she scoffed. Vegeta reached his hand out and planted it on the lockers ahead of her, his muscular arm blocking her forward movement. She pushed her back against the lockers and stared up at him with contempt.

"Hmm, let me guess," he said as his eyes roamed down her body, spending a little extra time at her short skirt. "You look like the type that might fuck a teacher."

"That's not even close!" Bulma was already red with irritation, but his lewd suggestion and penetrating gaze made her flush even more. "I just threw a party! …after breaking into the school," she added that second part much quieter than the first.

He hummed then nodded as if he accepted that as the real answer, then just smirked at her before walking away. Bulma frowned at his retreating form. ' _Did- did he just trick me?_ '

* * *

Bulma continued on with her school day without much fuss. Her teachers were welcoming and the lessons were easy. No real standout friendship opportunities presented themselves but she still remained optimistic.

When the lunch bell rang, Bulma followed the swarms of students to the school's cafeteria. Her fancy city private school had nothing on Orange Star. The cafeteria boasted several meal options around the perimeter of the vast room, resembling a mall food court more than high school lunchroom.

Blue eyes scanned the sea of tables in the center of the room, and Bulma wondered if she'd be able to find Chi Chi among all the other students.

Deciding to address her hunger first, Bulma got in line at the place serving sushi. Ahead of her was a group of rowdy boys laughing and chatting about some upcoming baseball something. She found herself paying less attention to their conversation and more to one of the boy's particularly handsome appearance.

He was tall with lean muscle, long dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. A faint scar marred his cheek, but it didn't distract the least bit from his killer smile. He must have noticed Bulma's staring because he turned and address her directly.

"Have we met before?"

"That's unlikely," she told him, doing her best to conceal her embarrassment at being caught admiring him. "I'm new as of today."

"Hmm," he hummed, "must of been in my dreams then." Bulma raised her eyebrows and struggled to fight the laugh that wanted to escape her lips. Now, she was embarrassed  _for him_.

"I'm sorry," he laughed easily, "that was a cheesy line. But, damn girl, I need to know you. You're gorgeous." His dark eyes looked her up and down and she flushed under his observation.

"You aren't so bad yourself," she giggled. "I'm Bulma."

"Yamcha," he replied with a smirk. The pair continued to talk and get to know one another as the line moved forward. He was funny and took every opportunity to flatter her.

"Where are you sitting?" he asked as they exited the line, sushi in hand. Before Bulma could reply, she spotted Chi Chi waving and calling her name.

"I think I'm going to go sit by my roommate, but let's talk again sometime," she smiled.

"Oh we definitely will," he gave her a wink before he walked off with his friends, and Bulma felt butterflies stir in her stomach. She approached a smiling Chi Chi and the pair meandered through the crowded lunchroom.

"Guess who I met today?" Bulma said as she and Chi Chi took a seat at a vacant table.

"Who?"

"Vegeta Ouji," Bulma grimaced. "And let me just say, he's a real piece of work. He followed me out of class and accused me of…" she lowered her voice, "getting kicked out of my last school for sleeping with a teacher! Can you believe that!?"

"You got  _kicked out_  of your last school?" Chi Chi whispered back with wide eyes.

"That - that's not the point of this story!"

"Is that why the Headmaster wants me to be a good influence on you?!" Her innocent eyes somehow growing larger as she connected the dots.

"Chi Chi! Stay on topic!" Bulma exclaimed as she slapped her hands on the table, "what I'm trying to say is Vegeta is huge ass!"

Chi Chi wilted slightly, but Bulma wasn't sure why. She hadn't been  _that_  loud. When she noticed her roommate's sight was beyond her, Bulma blanched and slowly turned around to find Vegeta and Goku standing behind her.

"At least I don't  _have_  a huge ass. You should really consider dieting," Vegeta spat condescendingly. "And while you're at it, keep my name out of your mouth." Without waiting for reply, Vegeta stomped away leaving a smiling Goku behind.

"Sorry about him!" Goku laughed as he waved off Vegeta. "I just came over here to say hi and that I hope you're having a good first day."

"Um, are you serious?" Bulma scoffed in disbelief. Had he not just witnessed that interaction? But Goku didn't seem very interested in her reply as his attention shifted immediately.

"Heyyy, Chi Chi." A rosy hue invaded the girl's cheeks the moment they made eye contact.

"Hey Goku," Chi Chi replied shyly.

"I'll uh...I'll see you later in Chem?" he asked with a smirk.

"You bet!" she smiled and he shot her a flirty wink before following after Vegeta.

"You bet?" Chi Chi repeated to herself quietly then looked to Bulma. "Was that a stupid thing to say?" she asked her roommate nervously.

Bulma furrowed her brow. "Did no one notice Vegeta just called me a fat ass!?"

* * *

Bulma knocked on the headmaster's door. Returning, as instructed, to inform him of her first day. She entered the room upon hearing the headmaster's welcome, and found one more Vegeta Ouji than she was expecting.

"Oh I'm sorry to interrupt!" Bulma apologized.

"No worries," the headmaster said, " he was just on his way out." Vegeta looked peeved and Bulma wasn't sure if it was her presence or whatever conversation that happened before she had arrived.

Bulma awkwardly waited near the entrance before Headmaster Ouji gestured for her to take a seat. She and Vegeta exchanged a glare as they crossed paths.

"Oh Vegeta, before you go, have you had a chance to meet Miss Briefs?"

"Unfortunately," Vegeta grumbled quietly as he stood in the doorway.

Bulma rolled her eyes at him, before turning to the headmaster. "Yes, we're acquainted," Bulma answered for him as she took a seat, "we have AP Calculus together."

"Ahh, of course," Headmaster Ouji replied, before turning his sights to Vegeta. "Miss Briefs, here, has a superb academic history, her familial connections and perfect marks will surely open many doors for her. It will probably be easy for her to steal the title of valedictorian from you."

Bulma turned over her shoulder to shoot Vegeta a smug look, before childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

"If you want to even  _match_  the number of Ivy League offers she'll get, you'll need to work twice as hard."

"Noted," Vegeta said through gritted teeth as Bulma continued to silently taunt him. "Am I dismissed now?" He asked impatiently.

"Yes, and shut the door on your way out."

Inside her head, Bulma laughed evilly at Vegeta's annoyance. She felt her head grow bigger at the headmaster's praise. The fact that it was at Vegeta's expense was just a bonus.


	3. Chapter 3

Bulma entered the library looking for a quiet place to study, but she was disappointed to find every table occupied. She didn't really want to use one of the reading nooks, it just wasn't enough surface area to sprawl out all her books. She bit her lip as her eyes scanned the room one more time and debated if she should wait for someone to get up or just go back to her room.

"Hey!" Goku yelled in a hushed tone as he waved his arm to get her attention, "hey, new girl!"

"Her name is Bulma," Vegeta grumbled, confused by why his idiot best friend was trying to talk to the annoying girl from his class.

"Bulma!" Goku called. With her name, Goku was finally able to get her attention. "Come sit by us!" he said waving her towards his table. Bulma smiled, she liked Goku, he was really sweet, but he was sitting by five other guys including Vegeta, whom she very much did not like.

"Hey, how's it going?," she greeted the table as she sat down in the nearest chair.

"Guys, this is Bulma, she's new this year. Bulma these are some of my friends on the lacrosse team," Goku introduced gesturing to the boys at the table. They all gave her friendly and/or flirty smiles as they introduced themselves, all except Vegeta who was trying his damnedest to ignore her existence. He shifted in his seat, turning away from her as he continued reading the book in his hands.

Goku leaned into Bulma and whispered as if it was some secret, "we have to clock a certain amount of study hall hours to be eligible to play." Bulma nodded, that made sense why they would all be there together; she had never really been one to study in a large group.

"So, Bulma, where are you from?" one of the boys asked.

"West City," she replied plainly.

"That's so cool!" "Oh a city girl!" "Man, I love West City!" they all cooed.

"What made you decide to come to Orange Star?" another boy asked.

"Oh you know... it has really great academics," Bulma fibbed. The boys and Goku nodded, accepting that answer, but Vegeta who had clearly been listening (even though he was pretending not to) snorted at her lie. He had figured out early on she didn't come to Orange Star by choice. Bulma scowled in his direction, imagining he had no qualms with revealing her secret.

"As riveting as this conversation has been, fellas, I think I'm just going to go study in my room," Bulma said and she stood from her chair.

"Bye Bulma! I'll see you around!" Goku called with a friendly smile, which Bulma returned.

"What the hell, Geets? I thought you had the opposite effect on women?" one of the boys snickered.

"Yeah, she was borderline repelled by you!" laughed another.

"Good! Now you idiots can actually focus on studying," Vegeta sneered. He wished that stupid, purple haired girl would leave so he could actually read instead of listening to his teammates ogle at her.

"So, Goku," one of the lacrosse boys began, "you trying to get with that?" Vegeta looked up, suddenly interested in what Goku had to say.

"Nah, I actually have my eyes on her roommate," Goku replied waving off his teammates. They all seemed to be excited by that and quickly jumped on him.

"Well then can you get me her number?"

"Wait, no! Get  _me_  her number!"

"Maybe you guys should focus more on this upcoming season than getting laid!" Vegeta growled at his teammates as he stood. He was annoyed that everyone acted like this girl was so special. All the teachers, his own fucking father, and now his teammates were enamored by her.

"He's just mad, cause he isn't getting any!" Vegeta heard one of them snicker as he pushed through the library doors.

* * *

Bulma scrolled through social media while she lounged on her bed. A scowl tugged at her lips as her feed presented her with several photos of her ex best friends at a hip, new restaurant in West City. In less than a month, they had already forgotten about her, moved on and were following a new queen bee.

It served as a reminder of how inconsequential her absence had been in their lives. For the first time since arriving at Orange Star, Bulma found herself wondering how her father was doing now that she was gone. ' _One less thing for him to concern himself with_ ,' she figured.

Dr. Briefs had mentioned he would call to check on her, but it had been two weeks and he still hadn't. Bulma had subconsciously decided she would test him and see how long it took before it occurred to him to see how she was doing. She wasn't holding her breath.

Bulma dropped her phone to the side, deciding to stop torturing herself with images of those with seemingly better lives than hers. She rolled over and looked at her roommate, who was at her desk studying. The raven haired girl was super sweet, and so not… damaged. Chi Chi lacked the jaded attitude that accompanies parental abandonment. She began to wonder how someone like that, who probably had an adoring father, ended up at a place like this.

"Chi?" Bulma said as she sat up in her bed.

"What's up?" Chi Chi smiled, as brown eyes met blue.

"No offense, but like, why are you here? At Orange Star."

"Uhh," Chi Chi laughed, "I don't know what you mean. I'm going to school just like you."

"Yeah, but why here instead of living at home with your parents and going to school there?" Bulma asked.

Chi Chi paused, seemly caught off guard by the question. "I mean, I guess there's a couple of reasons," she began, but Bulma cut her off before she could finish.

"What? Like your dad deciding he was bored of parenting you, too?" Bulma snorted.

"What? No!" Chi Chi tried to laugh at the odd suggestion. "Me and my dad are really close."

"Wow, an actual relationship with one's father? What's that like?" Bulma replied sarcastically and Chi Chi frowned, the conversation taking an unexpectedly dark turn. "But seriously, how can you claim to be tight with your folks when you're in a place like this? My theory is only parents who can't be bothered to raise their kids, ship them off to boarding school. And let me guess, your old friends don't text you either."

Chi Chi huffed in offense, "first of all, my parents sacrificed a lot so I could go to a great school like this! They did it because they want me to have opportunities not because they don't want to see me!" Her face grew flushed in embarrassed frustration. "Friends grow apart sometimes, and that's okay, and... and I don't know why I need to defend myself to you!" Before Bulma could reply Chi Chi got up and stormed out of the room.

She swore she heard Chi Chi mumble 'bitch' before slamming the door. Bulma groaned and flopped back into her bed, digging her palms into her eyes. She was being a bitch and totally projecting on her innocent roommate. Bulma wanted to cry. Was it not enough that she was miserable? Did she really have to go and try to make others miserable too?

It was a few hours before Chi Chi returned to her and Bulma's room, leaving the lavender haired girl plenty of time to stew in her guilt. Bulma perked up as she heard the the front door open.

"Hey," she greeted softly, but Chi Chi just gave her a sidelong glance. "I'm sorry, okay!? I wasn't trying to be mean, it wasn't even really about you. I just am…" Bulma paused, finding it difficult to describe how she felt.

"Having a hard time adjusting?" Chi Chi offered, sympathetically. Kami, she really was a nice person.

"I guess so." Bulma slumped in defeat. She had spent so much of her time convincing herself that she didn't care about the loss of her old friends or moving out of her home. It was them who should be sad to see her go, right? But maybe it was affecting her more than she had thought.

Bulma decided to confess to her roommate how she had been feeling, the drama with her dad and getting expelled. Chi Chi sat quietly and listened, nodding every so often. When she talked about her mom dying, the raven haired girl held her hand and she teared up. Bulma's heart clenched at Chi Chi's compassionate words and the comfort that she offered.

With her old friends, it seemed like there was always this unspoken competition. Who was the best looking? Had the most money? Wore the best clothes? This type of real and raw emotional outpour would only serve as ammunition to friends like those. 'Friends' if you could even call them that. With someone like Chi Chi by her side, Bulma was beginning to revise her definition of the word.

* * *

When Chi Chi had invited her to hangout and read down by the fields, Bulma had thought that was code for 'watch lacrosse practice'. So when her roommate actually pulled out a book, she grumbled. The pair sat in the grass under a shady tree. It had a perfect view of athletic practice fields without being so close that their intentions were obvious.

No, they were just a couple of friends enjoying a lovely spring afternoon. They sat down five minutes before the start of lacrosse practice? Merely a coincidence.

Brown eyes slid back and forth as they consumed the words on the page. "Chi," Bulma whispered harshly, though no one was close enough to hear. "I thought we were going to... ya know," her eyes pointing to the practice fields where the boys were beginning their warm ups, " _discuss_."

Chi Chi laughed as she set down her book. "What? You see something you like?" she teased.

"Several somethings," Bulma hummed as she looked at the muscular boys. As promised, many of them were shirtless and showing off exactly what they had to offer. Regretfully, Bulma's eyes wandered to Vegeta as he lead the team in their stretches. Chi Chi hadn't been exaggerating when she called his body 'insane', too bad he had a nightmare of a personality.

"Ugh," Bulma groaned, "I need to get myself a boyfriend. A girl could go crazy with all this eye candy."

"Do you have your eye on any one, in particular?" Chi Chi asked, and Bulma first thought to Yamcha. ' _He definitely has boyfriend potential_ ,' she mused as she wrapped the edges of her sweater tighter to her body to combat a soft breeze.

"Maybe," she smiled.

"Are you thinking about Vegeta Ouji?"

"EXCUSE ME?" Bulma all but yelled. "He is probably the worst human being I've ever met, he's at the absolute bottom of my list. Why would you even say that!?"

Chi Chi giggled to herself, that was a rather aggressive dismissal of an innocent suggestion. "Oh, I don't know, you've just been watching him the whole time we've been here."

"I have not!" Bulma glared at her roommate, "Okay, sure, he's like pretty fucking hot. But I can't see how any girl could get over what a jackass he is enough to actually go out with him."

"I could probably name a few," Chi Chi mumbled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Like a lot of girls like him. I guess because he seems so indifferent to their attention - But the few times I've interacted with him, I wouldn't say he was nice, but he definitely isn't as bad as you make him seem. Maybe he just doesn't like you."

"Ugh! That's ridiculous, I'm very likable!" Bulma insisted.

"Okayyy," Chi Chi nodded with wide eyes. There was really no point in contesting.

The roommates continued to watch the lacrosse boys run their drills and scrimmage as Bulma silently pouted. Her actually having any remotely positive feelings about Vegeta was ridiculous and completely unfathomable! Just looking at his stupid face made her sick!

The screech of their coach's whistle signaled all the boys to huddle up. After some group chant, they dispersed, picking up discarded belongings and headed toward the locker room.

Bulma gave Chi Chi, who had resumed reading, a slight nudge as Goku and two other boys were walking in their direction. The boys laughed as they whispered quietly to each other and Goku playfully shoved one.

"Hey girls," Goku greeted. "How's it going?"

"Better now that you guys are here," Bulma flirted. Chi Chi closed her book, keeping her finger in the page to mark her spot. She peeked up at Goku as he scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"So Bulma…" he began, and her heart dropped. Oh, of course he's here to talk to her. Bulma's so pretty and cool… "My buddy, Toma has been begging me to hook you guys up, so I was wondering —"

"Hey idiots! Get in the locker room!" Vegeta shouted from behind them. The two boys tensed, but Goku just laughed. Chi Chi didn't mind the interruption, she was just relieved her crush wasn't trying to ask out her roommate. Bulma glared at Vegeta, the fact that he hadn't put his shirt back on was even more annoying.

The three boys retreated as their captain came and stood proudly in front of the girls, who were still seated in the grass. His arms crossed over his broad chest that glistened with sweat "And you," Vegeta growled as he stared pointedly at Bulma, "quit trying to distract my teammates."

"I didn't do anything. In fact, they came over to  _me_! I can't help it if I'm irresistible!" she sassed, but Vegeta just rolled his eyes. "Sounds to me like you're just jealous!"

"Oh please," he grumbled, before he squatted down to so that they were eye level. "Let's not pretend we both don't know who you have been staring at this whole time."

"Uh... but... ugh!" Bulma stuttered trying to come up with some defense. Heat rushed to her cheeks, she could not believe he had noticed her attention on him.

"That's what I thought," he smirked as he stood and turned to walk away. Bulma was flustered and frustrated by her brain's inability to conjure up a comeback. She couldn't let him have the last word.

"You're UGLY!" Bulma screamed at his retreating form and Chi Chi snickered to herself.

"Just keep telling yourself that," he hollered, not even sparing a look back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reading your comments! they really help keep me motivated to write!
> 
> my beta [ bitchytimemachine ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine) just wrote a new soulmate au, you should go read that next!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thanks to my beta [ bitchytimemachine ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Bulma attempted to ignore Vegeta during first period, but the shit eating grin he wore every time she glanced back at him was irking her beyond belief. It was a face that said, 'I know something you don't know' and she hated it. She hated him.

Ms. Fasha called on Vegeta to write out a problem and the board. As he stood from his desk, he leaned down and whispered to Bulma, "try not to check me out while I'm up there."

She nearly choked in response.

 _That's_  what this was about! Bulma growled. She tried to focus on the solution he wrote on the board and resist the power of his suggestion.

But she was weak, and her eyes gravitated to his backside. The way his clothes stretched to cover the delicious muscles underneath. She didn't even need to imagine what all that brawn looked like without covering. She got an eye full yesterday. He had been sweaty and still a bit flushed from his vigorous practice. His sculpted abs on full display, the V of his slim hips diving into his shorts, making Bulma wonder...

The lavender haired girl clenched her eyes shut willing away her wayward thoughts. Why did he have to say that?! She fell right into his trap! She was so stupid!

No! He was so stupid!

Ms. Fasha praised Vegeta's correct answer as he returned to his seat, not missing the frustration on Bulma's face. He leaned forward in his desk and spoke quiet enough for only her to hear, "what are you thinking about?"

She could tell he wore a smug expression just by the tone of his voice. Could he be any more obnoxious?!

"I'm thinking about antiderivatives, because unlike  _some people_  I'm listening to the lesson," Bulma muttered angrily.

"You're a liar," he chuckled.

"You're insufferable!" Bulma was struggling to keep her voice down. She wanted to turn around and tell him exactly what she thought of him and his stupid little mind games. Thank Kami, the bell rang instead.

Vegeta continued to taunt her as the pair exited the classroom. Apparently, poking fun at her physical attraction to him was his new favorite tactic to bother her. Bulma immediately noticed Yamcha leaning against the lockers across the way, looking as if he had been waiting for her.

"Get away from me," Bulma muttered as she shoved Vegeta away. She ran her fingers through her hair before strolling up to Yamcha with a practiced nonchalance.

"Sup, B. You're looking good today," Yamcha greeted with a flirtatious smirk.

"I'm looking good everyday," she smiled arrogantly.

"Ain't that the truth."

Bulma couldn't help but grin. Yamcha was always quick to butter her up with compliments about her beauty, a refreshing contrast from the mental battle that was interacting with Vegeta. "What are you doing here? Do you have Calc next period?"

"Hah, that's a joke," Yamcha laughed. "No, I was waiting for you. I was hoping I could walk you to your next class." Bulma blushed, she could hardly believe he had gone out of his way just to walk with her. Was he like a total gentleman or what?

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot," she replied with a shy smile. Yamcha and Bulma began walking down the hall side by side, chatting about their next period classes and upcoming projects. He, of course, had to take the opportunity to boast about his baseball successes.

"I have a ton of baseball scouts blowing up my phone, wanting to come watch my games or offering to take me out to lunch. All of them really want me for their teams, some are even promising me a spot on the starting line up," Yamcha bragged. "I don't know if you know this, but that's like unheard of for a freshman."

"Wow," Bulma smiled. "That's so cool. So have you already decided where you're going to go to university then?"

"Nah, I don't like to make any firm commitments, that way I can string several along. If they really like me they'll just keep offering more. Scholarships and perks that is."

"Oh," she nodded. Bulma could understand his line of thinking, but she couldn't help but feel like he was wasting people's time by acting like he  _might_  want to join their team.

"My parents and coach all agree I have what it takes to go pro," he told her and Bulma acted impressed.

"Well this is me," Bulma said pointing to her second period classroom.

"Oh ok, I was wondering, though, if I could get your number? I like talking to you," Yamcha said, his brown eye gazing down at her. "You're not like other girls."

Bulma took his offered phone and added her contact. She wasn't sure if she loved talking to Yamcha (she realized she was more interested in athletes than actual sports), but him suggesting that she was special made Bulma want to give him more of her time.

Yamcha slid his phone back into his pocket. "Would you want to meet up after school today? Maybe grab some fro-yo?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" she grinned.

"Uh, if that's what you want it to be," Yamcha smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm, I don't know," Bulma teased, pretending to be indecisive. "Ok fine! You can text me the details," she said before entering her second period classroom. Yamcha smirked, watching her hips sway as she walked away.

By the time Bulma was seated at her desk, she already received a text from Yamcha. She beamed down at her phone, he really was so cute.

After school, Yamcha and Bulma met up in the courtyard and walked to the shopping district that was a few blocks away from campus. The conversation flowed easily and Yamcha was such a gentleman, opening doors for her and even offering to pay.

They walked into a cute, little shop with pastel colored decor, self serve yogurt machines, and an expansive toppings bar. Bulma got herself a strawberry vanilla swirl with cheesecake bites, fresh strawberries, and strategically swirled strawberry sauce on top. It was perfectly adorable, so she snapped a picture to post on social media. She would've included Yamcha's but he had created this monstrosity with several yogurt flavors, chocolate sauce, gummy bears, and rainbow sprinkles. He claimed it was tasty, so she didn't argue.

The pair sat in a booth inside the frozen yogurt shop, enjoying their treats and each other's company. "That was really sweet of you to walk me to class today," Bulma commented.

"Yeah, of course. It was no biggy. I was actually kind of surprised when I found out that not only were you talking Calculus, but AP Calculus."

"I'm actually in all AP classes," Bulma boasted.

"Really?" Yamcha asked, seemingly impressed and she nodded with a proud grin.

"You're too pretty to be in all advanced classes," Yamcha teased before taking another bite. Bulma's smile faded to something a little more forced. She tried to take it as the compliment she was sure he intended. The idea that beauty and brains were somehow mutually exclusive was rather bothersome to a girl like Bulma, but she decided to let it slide.

"This place is really good," Bulma said, attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, sometimes the team will come here for a snack after practice."

"Cool." Bulma felt the conversation beginning to fizzle out as she set down her spoon and push her empty cup away. "I'm done, whenever you're ready to go," she added after a brief stretch of silence. Moments later, the pair stood and made their way out of the frozen yogurt shop.

"Let me walk you back to your dorm," Yamcha said sweetly, throwing his arm around Bulma's shoulders. She smiled up at him and couldn't help but feel like they looked like a real couple with such physical displays of affection.

After the short walk filled with amicable conversation, Bulma concluded that Yamcha sure did talk about baseball a lot. She didn't think she minded, mostly because he spent an equal amount of time showering her with compliments. He talked about how much he liked her blue eyes and how her hair reminded him of flowers.

His flattery wasn't particularly poetic or original, but Bulma still felt as though Yamcha put her up on a pedestal and she liked that feeling very much. When they arrived at her door Bulma turned to give him a hug, but Yamcha didn't act like this was goodbye.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh! ...Sure, come on in." Bulma was a bit surprised, but not averse to the suggestion. He followed her inside and Bulma noted that Chi Chi wasn't home.

"Here's my glamourous dorm," she joked as she gestured around the room, "I'm guessing yours looks identical."

"Yeah, but yours is much cleaner," Yamcha laughed.

"Sooo. What do you want to do now?" Bulma asked, but she found her answer when she turned around and Yamcha grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her into a kiss. The suddenness startled her, but she quickly melted into his touch.

He was a good kisser, tender at times, aggressive in others. He seemed…  _practiced_.

Yamcha leaned forward, practically pushing her down onto her bed, until he was situated over her. Grabbing her ass moments after their first kiss was bold, but Bulma didn't mind much. Well, that was until his hands continued to explore her body more and more aggressively. She suddenly found herself uncomfortable at the rate this makeout was progressing. Maybe that was the issue, Yamcha hadn't intended for this to be only kissing.

They continued their lip lock as Bulma timidly put her hand over his, hoping to stop his trek up her skirt. When he pushed forward, she squeezed his hand and pulled away from his lips.

"Whoa, whoa there," Bulma tried to laugh, playing it as casually as she could, attempting to stamp out the underlying fear that no matter what she said he had the physical strength to do whatever he chose to.

"Let's just slow down a minute," Bulma suggested softly, trying not to bruise his ego.

"I'm sorry," Yamcha backed away, and she felt a moment of relief as they sat up. His legs hung off the edge of the bed, his gaze down at the floor. Bulma righted her crooked skirt as she scooched closer to him. "I just like you a lot, is all. You're so beautiful, I couldn't help myself." His face fell, suddenly looking so hurt and disappointed, that Bulma almost felt guilty. Shouldn't she feel flattered by his pursuit?

"I like you too," she offered and touched his knee.

"Yeah, just not enough, I guess," Yamcha mumbled.

"What? No! I mean, I like you a lot, too! I had so much fun today. Really! I just, you know, wanted to wait a little bit before we get into… that kind of stuff." Bulma wasn't quite sure why she was feeling badly for rejecting his unwanted advances. "How about you take me out again sometime, and we'll see how things go," she added suggestively. Hopefully, this little hiccup wouldn't kill the mood and ruin their date.

"Well, I better get going then," Yamcha declared as he stood to make his way for the door.

"Wait!" Bulma cried as she sat up on her knees and grabbed his sleeve. "You don't have to leave! We can still hang out and talk." She didn't like how desperate her voice sounded. Was it so stupid that she wanted some reassurance that her saying 'no' was okay with him?

"I actually have a lot of studying I should be doing."

"Oh, ok," she mumbled, as she fell back to sit on her feet. "But you'll text me later?"

"Sure," he shrugged before walking out of the room. Even several minutes after he left, Bulma stared at the door trying to puzzle together how it was that she was feeling. He made her uncomfortable, but somehow she was the one who ended up comforting him?

Bulma found herself wondering if it would've been easier to just go through with it. It wasn't like she hadn't had sex before, but it had just been with someone she was seeing for several months. Yamcha was definitely attractive, and he seemed nice, but she didn't want to have sex with him, at least not yet.

What if he told all his friends that she was a prude or a tease? She did like to wear short skirts, afterall. But if she had gone all the way with him, after just one halfway decent date then would he tell everyone she was easy? Being new, her image was still highly susceptible to rumors. She'd really rather her name not be thrown around with words like 'slut'. Bulma slumped against the wall with a sigh.

The truth is when it comes to sex and reputations: a girl can never win.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> special thanks to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Chi Chi had Chemistry class right after lunch, and as always made an effort to get to class early. She sat at her desk pulling out her various pens and highlighters to prepare for the lecture. She worked hard to take thorough and organized notes because Chemistry seemed to be the subject she struggled most with.

The raven haired girl looked up when her lab partner took his seat in the desk in front of her, only it wasn't her lab partner, it was Goku. He sat sideways in the desk, so he could face her, he wore his usual sweet smile.

"Hi," she squeaked. She didn't understand why her voice wouldn't come out normal when she tried to talk to him.

"Would you want to grab coffee with me tomorrow morning before first period?"

"Coffee? With you?" Chi Chi's brain malfunctioned as she tried to supply him with a reply. ' _Words, Chi_ ,' she told herself. ' _Speak before he starts to think you're stupid_.'

"Um, I don't really like coffee. If anything I like to drink tea. Or maybe hot chocolate. I tend to like sweet things. That's probably why I like baking so much. Man, I really wish the dorm kitchens were bigger, then I could probably make more -" Chi Chi cut herself off, finally realizing she was rambling. Her cheeks flushed in her sudden embarrassment, just being around Goku made her nervous, let alone talking to him. "I'm sorry, what was the question?"

"You're adorable," Goku chuckled and Chi Chi's heart just about combust. The bell rang before she could think to say anything. "We'll talk later," he smiled and touched her hand before walking to his own desk.

Chi Chi was still reeling as the teacher began his lesson on chemical equations. Did Goku just try to ask her out? Maybe she was misinterpreting the question. Maybe he just wanted to copy her lab notes. He did say she was adorable though! What did this even mean!?

* * *

Bulma sat down in her desk, and checked her empty inbox again. It had been two days since her date with Yamcha and he still hadn't texted her. She was sure he was just busy, he said as much. But Bulma couldn't help but wonder if she did something wrong.

She hadn't told anybody what had happened after they got frozen yogurt. The only person she really could talk to was Chi Chi, and Bulma was sure she wouldn't understand. Her roommate was just clueless when it came to boys.

She considered texting him first, but she was worried about coming off as clingy or annoying. Maybe he didn't think two days was that long. They didn't have any classes together, though, so unless he made a point to see or text her they didn't have any communication whatsoever. Bulma slumped in her chair, as Vegeta entered the class with several other boys in tow.

They all seemed to glance at her and then at each other before erupting into laughter. She and Vegeta stared at each other as the boys snickered to themselves. She could only imagine the jokes Vegeta was telling at her expense.

The boys dispersed as the bell rang, and Vegeta slid into his desk behind Bulma. "Do you wanna know what's so funny?" he whispered to the back of her head.

"No, because I don't care," Bulma growled.

The day's class proved uneventful, just another lesson Bulma had already taught herself. After Ms. Fasha's lecture, she passed back their quizzes from the day before. Bulma turned around her seat to look at Vegeta.

"What'd you get?" she asked with a challenging smirk.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her, "96%."

"Hah! I got a 100%!" Bulma taunted, but Vegeta acted unimpressed. "Ms. Fasha even wrote on my quiz, 'perfect job, Bulma! I like you so much better than Vegeta!'"

"She did not write that!" Vegeta laughed as he tried to snatch Bulma's quiz from her hands. But she was too quick shoving the paper into her backpack and out of his reach.

"I guess you'll never know for sure," she teased with a shrug of her shoulders.

Vegeta shook his head, "there's no way she likes you better than me."

"Oh yeah! Maybe she just pretends to like you so you say nice things about her to your dad!"

His face fell as the words spilled from her lips. Vegeta leaned back in his desk and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly over the conversation. He averted his eyes, but something about his expression told Bulma that that was a thought he had already come up with on his own.

She considered apologizing, but Vegeta spoke first. "At least I'm not a pervert," he mumbled.

Her mouth gaped open.

"Excuse me! What are you suggesting!?" Bulma all but yelled as the class was dismissed. Vegeta gave her a shrug as he slid out of his desk and made his way to the door. The pair walked out and stopped at Bulma's locker.

"So! Do you have any evidence to back up that accusation or have you just resorted to name calling?" she asked, mildly annoyed as she entered her lock's combination. The lavender haired girl began rummaging through her messy locker for the books she needed next period as Vegeta watched her with a mischievous grin.

"Hmm, let's see. I'm always, ya know, minding my own business…" Bulma gave him a sideways glance. "And you're out here staring at me at all the time... in class… at practice," Vegeta leaned in as he continued. "I can just feel you undressing me with your eyes… like some kind of pervert."

Bulma scoffed in disbelief. He did not just go there! Heat flooded her cheeks as she attempted to come up with a defence.

"Aye, Geets! You coming?" A burly boy asked. If anyone should be suspected of perversion it was this guy and his creepy, pencil thin mustache.

"Gimme a sec," Vegeta said waving Nappa and his other friends away.

"Where was I?" Vegeta asked, "Oh yes, you are a pervert who is constantly objectifying me." He pretended to be affronted by her actions, but she knew he was enjoying making her uncomfortable. Bulma just rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You're seriously so ridiculous! I'm starting to think you can't let go of this joke, because you're the one who's secretly in love with me!" She sassed.

"Get real," Vegeta scoffed, "Why would I be into a girl that is as full of herself as you?"

"An ego to rival your own," Bulma suggested, and he couldn't help but smirk at her comeback. "Not that your confession would matter, I'm going out with Yamcha now, so why don't you just run along."

Bulma became uneasy at the sudden evil smile that spread across his lips. "Really, Yamcha?" he questioned.

"Yes! Okay," Bulma replied and slammed her locker to punctuate her point.

"So if he's your boyfriend, then what's he doing over there?" Vegeta nodded behind her. When she turned Bulma found Yamcha unabashedly tonguing some girl a mere dozen lockers over. Bulma was seeing red, she shoved her books into Vegeta's hands and stormed right up to Yamcha and the girl in question.

"What the fuck, Yamcha?" she screamed attracting the attention of several passersby. He looked up from the girl he'd been kissing. He just gave her a confused look that also said 'what the fuck?'

"What is this? I thought we were dating!" she accused with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"We went on  _a_  date, that doesn't mean we're dating, babe. I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't really do commitments," Yamcha replied, his tone dripped with condescension.

With that, all of her fiery bravado fizzled out and Bulma was suddenly mortified into silence. The girl he he was making out with whispered in his ear and the pair just walked away. Yamcha gave her a sideways glance, and left her surrounded by a half dozen onlookers. Bulma pushed through the small crowd, and marched back up to Vegeta to grab her books.

Vegeta and his goons stifled their laughter as Bulma shot him with an angry glare. "Wow, that must of been incredibly embarrassing for you," he said in a patronizing voice. She tried to grab her books out of his hands but Vegeta turned in time to keep them away from her.

"Have you ever wondered why you're so desperate? Is it because daddy doesn't pay enough attention to you?" he asked sarcastically with a fake pout.

Vegeta felt the sting on his cheek before the sound registered in his ears. She had seriously just slapped him across the face! He heard gasps as his hand reached up to touch his reddening cheek. No words were able to escape his parted lips, he only managed to look down at her in disbelief. Her blue eyes were drowning in unshed tears, and he suddenly realized he had gone too far.

"Why you little bitch!" Nappa called from behind him, but Vegeta held up his hand to silence him. He shoved her books back into her arms, and abruptly turned around and walked away. His goons looked surprised that Vegeta didn't retaliate at all, but scurried after him.

Bulma adjusted her books comfortably in her arms. She looked up and blinked several times, willing her tears to go back into her eyes, before she began walking back to her room. Ditching class wasn't a big deal to Bulma, most of her classes were a joke anyway. She could probably miss everyday and still ace all her exams.

It was arguably the worst day she had since starting at Orange Star and it was only 9:30am. She wanted to say that she hated Vegeta, but she worried more that what he said was true. Was she desperate for a boyfriend just because her dad doesn't pay her any attention? Could she really be so cliché?

Bulma sighed as she walked into her dorm and plopped onto her bed. And then for Vegeta to just completely retreat after he so clearly was winning. Was it possible that his aim wasn't actually victory, but rather he just got kicks from their verbal sparring? Bulma would be lying if she said it wasn't refreshing to argue with someone who could match her wits.

But then there was Yamcha. She had spent the last 48 hours over analyzing their interactions as she awaited a text from him. Bulma had thought he legitimately wanted to be her boyfriend, but today she found out she had severely overestimated his interest in her. She had convinced herself that he'd likely be spreading lies or gossip about her, but Bulma hadn't heard a peep.

It wasn't that she actually wanted rumors about her one way or the other, but there was just something rotten about feeling like she mattered so little to Yamcha that he didn't even talk about her at all. She was so insignificant and replaceable their interaction wasn't even worth mentioning. And somehow that hurt worse.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my beta, [ bitchytimemachine ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)!!

Bulma walked to class the following morning, her perky lavender pony tail bobbed back and forth with each step. She squeezed the notebooks in her arms and wondered if maybe Vegeta would apologize for being such a dick yesterday. Probably not, an apology wasn't really in accordance with the unspoken rules of their mental chess game.

"Did you hear about what that psycho new girl did?" the boy in front of her said to the friend walking beside him.

"No, what?" the friend replied, excited to hear the latest rumors.

"She was like screaming at Yamcha in the halls yesterday, saying she was in love with him and that she would kill the girl he was hooking up with and then turned around and attacked Vegeta Ouji! Like his buddy, Nappa, had to pry her off of him!"

Bulma scoffed.  _Seriously_. That's how people were describing what happened yesterday, it had been less than 24 hours and the story was completely misconstrued.

"I don't care how hot she is, I don't do crazy," the boy concluded. Bulma rolled her eyes, before she walked a little faster.

She pushed in between the two boys bumping both their shoulders, then turned around to face them. "That's a shame, because a girl would have to be certifiably insane to want a gossiping little bitch like you," she snarled then flipped her ponytail and continued walking.

"You're the bitch!" she heard him call as she approached the door to her first period class.

She turned over her shoulder and yelled, "good one!" When she turned back around Vegeta had walked up from the opposite direction, he looked at her with a raised brow, but she just shook her head and walked in.

He followed closely behind her, "are you fighting with other boys? I thought we had something special," he whispered sarcastically. An annoyed Bulma sat at her desk and glared at him but it only made him smirk.

He took his seat behind her as the teacher welcomed them and began the day's lecture.

Vegeta leaned forward in his desk so he could talk quietly to her. "Don't worry, I won't tell my dad you assaulted me on school grounds." Bulma rolled her eyes, ' _assaulted_ ' was definitely an inflation of the truth. "I would just hate for you to get expelled... ya know  _again_."

She inhaled sharply at that comment, she definitely had not considered the consequences for hitting him.  _Him_... the headmaster's son.

"On second thought..." he whispered, his warm breath fanned across the skin of her exposed neck giving her chills.

"Maybe I do want you gone…"

Bulma gulped, he couldn't actually be serious.

"That way I could be number one in the class with no competition."

Bulma whipped her head around and stared at him with wide eyes. She seriously could NOT get kicked out of two schools in two months, no university would want her then! Her sudden movements caused the legs of her desk to scratch loudly on the floor, drawing the attention of the entire class.

"Miss Briefs! Face forward!" Ms. Fasha yelled. Bulma caught a glimpse of Vegeta's smirk as she turned back around and quietly placed her hands on her lap and nervously bit her lip.

"My apologies for the disturbance, Bulma here is very chatty," Vegeta said to their teacher in his most polite voice.

Bulma frowned, ' _what a kiss ass._ '

"Well, Miss Briefs since you have so much to say to Mr. Ouji he can be your partner for term project," Ms. Fasha declared as she slapped the project outline on Bulma's desk.

"What?" they yelped in unison.

"But I hate him!" Bulma cried.

"Even better, a punishment for disrupting my class then," she replied as she walked past them and continued to pair students together and pass out the outlines.

"You are the bane of my existence," Bulma growled at Vegeta.

"Oh please!" he grumbled, "it's not like any of these idiots would be a better partner than me."

"I would gladly settle to be the smarter one in the pair if that meant a partner that's more agreeable," she retorted.

"So you admit, I'm the smarter one in this pair?!" Vegeta snickered.

"Stop talking to me," Bulma scowled and turned back to face the front of the class.

* * *

"A school festival?" Bulma questioned, "Yeah my old school didn't have anything like that."

"Oh well, it's fun! You see, all the clubs and sports set up booths for fundraising or recruitment, and sometimes there's local vendors selling food. We should totally go!"

"Yeah, ok," Bulma shrugged, not that she thought any club would interest her. Chi Chi clapped excitedly before grabbing Bulma's hand to lead her towards the festivities.

The pair wandered through the school's front lawn stopping at the various booths and sampling all the treats for sale.

"I can't believe the swim team is selling calendars!" Chi Chi beamed as she flipped through the glossy pages featuring muscular young men.

"I can't believe you bought one!" Bulma laughed and nudged her roommate as they walked through the festival. "Tell me the truth, Chi, are you like some secret slut? Because if you are I might like you even more."

"What?!" Chi Chi gawked, stopping at a dead halt. "What would possibly give you that idea?"

Bulma turned around to face her frozen friend. "Hey no judgement here! You just seem a little more boy crazy than most, buying sexy calendars and regularly watching the lacrosse practice are only a few of the symptoms I've seen and we've only know each other for like two months," Bulma laughed lightheartedly.

In a few strides, Chi Chi was right next to Bulma whispering harshly in her ear. "I'm not a secret slut, ok! I just... Well, before Orange Star I went to an all girls school and my parents always discouraged me from having a boyfriend. And now I'm here and there are so many...  _options_ , and like zero parental supervision. So I can get a little overzealous sometimes." Bulma just smiled at her friend's innocence.

"But even with all the right elements in play, I don't do anything about it because I just get so nervous," the raven haired girl sighed. "Like you saw me talking to Goku! I can barely have a real conversation with him, how would I get him to ask me out!"

"Then you should practice," Bulma declared as hooked her arm with Chi Chi's and dragged her towards the lacrosse booth. Goku and a few of his teammates were passing out flyers with their game schedule, in hopes of getting more fan support.

"Hey Goku! Looking good," Bulma called as the pair approached the booth.

Goku gave them a bright smile, "Hi! Are you guys enjoying the festival?"

Bulma turned to Chi Chi giving a chance to respond, but she just nodded 'yes' as she gazed up at Goku.

"So are guys going to be coming out to our games this season?" Goku asked hopefully, as he offered them a flyer.

"Oh totally!" Bulma smiled, pushing the flyer towards her roommate. "Chi Chi loves lacrosse." The raven haired girl smiled shyly as she accepted Goku's flyer.

"That's awesome!" he replied. "We're also selling team merch, if you guys want to buy some to wear to the game. All the funds raised help support our travel expenses," Goku explained as he gestured to their lacrosse booth behind them.

"Hey, is this guy bothering you beautiful ladies?" Another lacrosse player with long black hair asked as he put Goku in a headlock.

"Not at all!" Chi Chi replied, finally finding her voice. He just laughed as Goku struggled out of his grip and shoved him away.

"Don't mind him!" Goku said slightly out of breath, "that's just my brother, Raditz, he's also on the team. But yeah, shirts, if you want them."

"We'll have a look," Bulma giggled. All three walked over and as the girls perused the shirts, some boosting a player's number on the back.

"What's your number, Goku?" Chi Chi asked as she sifted through the piles careful not to unfold them.

"Are you asking for my jersey number or my phone number?" Goku smirked and Chi Chi flushed with embarrassment.

Raditz laughed at his brother's cheesy pickup line, but Goku just threw one of the shirts at him while maintaining eye contact with her. She gave a wide eyed look to Bulma who gave her a nod of encouragement in return.

"Erm, both," she bravely replied, as her blush deepened.

"Well my jersey is number ten..." Goku grabbed the flyer back from Chi Chi and began scribbling on it, "and here's my phone number."

"Cool," the raven haired girl smiled as she pulled a shirt with his number out of the pile. "Would it be ok with you if I wore your number?"

"I'd love that."

"Who's number two?" Bulma asked holding up a shirt, there seemed to be a surplus stock of number two. She figured it must be a popular choice for fans to order so many.

"That's Vegeta Ouji," one of the boys behind the booth replied.

"Ew!" the lavender haired beauty scoffed before tossing the shirt back on the table, causing all the boys working the booth to chuckle.

"Where is the captain anyway?" one of them asked Goku.

"Oh he had to work another booth for student council," Goku shrugged. "You see that one at the end of the row with the long line of girls?"

"What is he doing over there?" Chi Chi asked.

"Well, the student body president is a genius at fundraising. She's got our man working a kissing booth," Goku snickered, then the entire lacrosse booth broke out into laughter.

It was pretty well known that Vegeta was on the receiving end of a lot of female attention, but also that he was mostly apathetic towards it. There were rumors that he was too dedicated to his goals to give his time to dating or that he never deemed anyone worthy of his affection, which somehow made them want him more. Many of his lacrosse teammates envied him, but they were able to get a laugh from the irritation his fangirls' shameless flirting caused him.

Bulma picked out a sweatshirt (with no number) and thrust it into Chi Chi's hands. "Buy this for me and I'll pay you back," she said as began walking towards Vegeta's booth.

"Where are you going?" Chi Chi called.

"I'll be right back!"

"And just when I thought I met a pretty girl who wasn't already in love with the captain," sighed one of the lacrosse players and the rest of his teammates laughed again.

Bulma approached the booth and watched all the giggling girls bouncing in anticipation for their $5 kiss on the cheek. The price seemed pretty steep for a that jerk's lips.

' _Not that it really matters_ ,' Bulma smirked as she devised her plan. Bulma got in line, trying not to be annoyed by the girls ahead of her rambling on and on about how dreamy he was. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

When Bulma was next in line, a satisfied smirk slid across Vegeta's lips. "Well, well, well look who we have here," he husked, as he leaned his elbows on the booth counter.

' _This was basically her admitting defeat_ ,' he thought as his smirk grew to a full on grin. He quietly waited for her to hand over the cash and admit she wanted to kiss him.

Bulma pulled out some money and slid it to him on the counter. "Here's 20 bucks, but you can just kiss my ass," she said haughtily. She flipped her lavender locks over her shoulder and sashayed away as his expression morphed into a frown.

She couldn't help but laugh to herself, the look on his face was hilarious. How could he honestly think that she would want to kiss him!? Vegeta was an egotistical jackass, and it was sick the amount of joy Bulma gained from beating him at his own game. She was heading back to the lacrosse booth to meet up with Chi Chi when she felt someone firmly grip her wrist.

She swiftly turned around to see who would have the audacity to grab her, but before she could yell at the offender, Vegeta had thrust his other hand into her hair and smashed her lips into his. Bulma was stock still, eyes wide for a moment, her brain unable to comprehend what was happening.

Then on pure instinct she surrendered and her eyes fluttered closed as she reciprocated his kiss with equal fervor. His lips were aggressive and cocky, just like him. Everything had to be a competition with them, even this kiss. She softly bit his bottom lip, and he teased her with his tongue. Bulma was so engrossed in their heated make out that she could barely hear the jealous screeches of the girls still waiting in line.

It felt so sudden when he pulled away and released her, Bulma had to conceal the disappointed moan that escaped her mouth. He observed her flushed features for a second before he smirked and walked away without a word.

She stared at his back for a moment as he returned to his booth and it was like her brain rebooted and was finally able to fathom what had just happened.  _He kissed her? And she liked it?_  Nope, that didn't add up, she hated his guts.

"What the fuck was that!?" Bulma yelled after him and he peeked over his shoulder at her.

"Thank you for donating to the student council," he said politely, then gave her a saucy wink. Bulma turned around and blushed. She could not believe he had kissed her  _like that_!

' _What a fucking power play!_ ' Bulma thought as she stormed back over to the lacrosse booth.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Bulma had to admit lacrosse wasn't the worst sport in the world. It was surprisingly physical and the crowd's energy was contagious. But what truly made the game entertaining was Chi Chi's boisterous enthusiasm for anything Goku was doing. Bulma on the other hand made a point to cheer for everyone - everyone, but Vegeta that is.

He was pretty good, as far a Bulma could tell, but after his little stunt at the school festival, she was determined to prove to him that he wasn't as hot as he thinks he is. The boys played well and beat the visiting team by three goals. After the game, the victorious Orange Star players were greeted by their zealous fans.

Vegeta was the last to leave the locker room, his gaze quickly gravitated to Bulma who was giggling obnoxiously at his teammates' bad jokes. A handful of them were gathered around her and he couldn't help but roll his eyes, he knew exactly what she was doing.

He spotted his father chatting with his coach and mentally prepared for the inevitable dissection of every move he made in the game. With no other decent options for post-game conversations, Vegeta approached Goku who was talking to Chi Chi.

"You made this for me?" Goku asked as she placed the small box of treats in his hands.

"Yeah," she replied shyly. "I hope it's not too much! Like if that's weird, you totally don't have to eat them." Chi Chi was so sure that the cookies were a good idea until she actually handed them to him. She and Goku had been texting quite a bit since the festival, but she wasn't sure how to tell him she wanted to be more than just friends.

"Hey, give me one of those," Vegeta said pointing to Goku's treats.

"No way!" he shouted twisting away so Vegeta couldn't reach his cookies, "She made them for me!" Chi Chi couldn't help but smile.

"Good game, Vegeta," Chi Chi said with a nod.

"Thanks, I'm honestly surprised you noticed anyone else was on the field, what with you screeching Kakarot's name so often."

Goku punched Vegeta on the shoulder as a fierce blush spread across Chi Chi's cheeks.

"He's just teasing," Goku reassured her with a sweet smile, "I loved your cheering and these cookies. I'm so glad that you're here." Vegeta was going to pretend to gag, but when Bulma walked up hanging on Raditz's arm, he nearly gagged for real.

"Hey guys!" she greeted with a bright smile, "Good game, Goku!"

Bulma's expression shifted to unimpressed as she turned to Vegeta, "You were okay." Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at the vexing girl, while his teammates struggled not to laugh.

"I bet you don't even know the first thing about lacrosse," he scoffed. That was true, but she wasn't about to admit it.

"So?! Raditz told me he'd teach me more about it!" she said, before turning to Raditz and batting her eyelashes prettily. "Right?"

"Seriously Raditz, you're pathetic," Vegeta grumbled.

Raditz glanced back and forth between his captain and the babe on his arm, who were shooting each other death glares. He wasn't really sure what was going on, so he decided to change the subject, "We were thinking about grabbing a bite to eat, did you guys want to come?"

"You know I'm always hungry!" Goku laughed as he put an arm around Chi Chi's shoulders. She was giddy about the physical display and the prospect of hanging out with him more.

"But maybe you shouldn't come, Vegeta, you're really killing my vibe," Bulma sneered.

"Oh really!" Vegeta laughed, "I didn't seem to 'kill your vibe' when you were sticking your tongue down my throat." Raditz winced as he finally discovered the reason for the tension between these two.

"Ugh! You really are a smug piece of shi—!" Bulma swallowed her last word as the Headmaster approached the group and greeted them. It wasn't lost on Bulma the way Vegeta stiffened in his father's presence.

"Great job out there today, Kakarot," Headmaster Ouji complimented, "you make your school proud."

"Thank you very much, sir!" Goku smiled, before glancing at Vegeta who wore a face of indifference. The headmaster looked to Vegeta as well, before saying, "maybe, you could teach Vegeta a thing or two. You were looking especially slow out there today, son, have you been slacking off at practice? It seems to me, Kakarot here, may be more worthy to be the team's captain."

An uncomfortable wave washed over the onlooking students. Raditz and Chi Chi both looked down at the ground while Bulma observed the conflicting feelings on Vegeta's face. Goku quickly felt the need to chime in to defend his friend.

"No way sir!" Goku said with a forced laugh, "Vegeta is a great captain, the best the team could hope for!"

"I didn't ask you, boy," the headmaster chided, giving Goku a stern look that made him tense. "We'll talk about this later," he said to Vegeta, his tone borderline threatening. The headmaster abruptly walked away leaving the teens feeling extremely awkward.

"Butt the fuck out," Vegeta growled, he shoved Goku before stomping away. Goku watched him go with eyes full of sympathy, unperturbed by the rough treatment.

"Kami, that guy is such a prick," Bulma grumbled at Vegeta's retreating form.

"He's really not. He's actually my best friend," Goku informed her. "He might deny it, but he knows its true."

"Well, he doesn't really treat you like a friend," Bulma scoffed.

"It's just hard for him to acknowledge our friendship sometimes," Goku shrugged sadly, "I mean how can you feel like anyone is really your friend when either your dad makes them out to be your competition or they're just using you."

Memories involuntarily flooded Bulma's mind. Every day in class she sees people asking to copy his homework or to put in a good word with his dad. Hell, when she ran into him in his dad's office on her first day, the headmaster basically told her she was smarter and had more promise than Vegeta,  _in front of him_.

No wonder he was rude to her. She agreed with his father that day, and even tried to rub it in his face.

Bulma was lost in her thoughts as the group debated where to eat before settling on a nearby diner. The 50's themed restaurant was popular among students for its proximately to the school, it's tasty milkshakes and relatively cheap food. They slid into a booth, Goku next to Chi Chi and Raditz next to Bulma.

Everyone ordered a milkshake, and Bulma got some fries to snack on. The boys went a little overboard ordering several burgers, fries, and onion rings. Chi Chi thought it would be too much but the way those boys scarfed down that food, she realized those half dozen cookies she made Goku would be gone in a flash.

"So where'd you guys grow up?" Bulma asked conversationally, before taking a swig of her strawberry milkshake. Chi Chi smiled as she gazed at Goku, eager to learn more about him.

"I grew up in Mount Paozu, which is like the more rural outskirts of West City. And Raditz grew up…" Goku looked over to his brother, "mostly in North City." Raditz nodded as if to confirm.

"Why did you guys grow up in different places if you're brothers?" Bulma asked, slightly confused.

Goku laughed, "Oh yeah, well Raditz is actually my foster brother. So I didn't starting living with his family until a couple of years ago."

"People always think were real brothers because we both have such great hair!" Raditz added and as if on cue he and Goku dramatically began flipping their wild hair. Both girls laughed.

"Was that hard? Growing up in foster care?" Chi Chi asked innocently. Her heart broke a little thinking about sweet Goku having a less than ideal childhood.

"I don't know," Goku shrugged. "I never knew my birth parents, I was raised by my grandpa, Gohan, until he died when I was 10. With no one left to take care of me, I was put in the system. The first few years I really struggled, bouncing around from home to home. Believe it or not, I used to get into a lot of fights as a kid. And, ya know, foster parents are a little deterred by violent troublemakers." Goku let out a soft laugh. He described his relatively rough childhood with a lightness that suggested any pain he felt was resolved.

"It's been good though ever since I've been living with Raditz's family. His dad introduced me to lacrosse and just helped me channel all that energy into something more productive. I'm happy with them."

"We're happy to have you, brother. We love you," Raditz said and he and Goku exchanged a genuine smile.

"That's so sweet," Chi Chi hummed as she squeezed Goku's hand. In all their text conversations, family hadn't really come up. So learning this about him gave her a whole new level of appreciation for who he was.

The four of them continued to chat about hometowns and old friends, and Bulma couldn't help but ask, "I don't understand. How is someone as cool and nice as you is best friends with an asshole like Vegeta?"

Goku just laughed. "I know Vegeta can be a little…  _prickly_  sometimes, but he's great once you get to know him. He's the whole reason I go to Orange Star."

"What do you mean?" Chi Chi asked.

"We met in a club lacrosse team back in middle school, and after Vegeta saw how good I was he had told me that I had to come play for the Orange Star team in high school. When I told him I wanted to go to school with my brother, and on top of that, I really couldn't afford a fancy boarding school, he worked his magic and convinced his dad to give both of us scholarships."

"Yeah, he is a pretty cool dude," Raditz added.

Bulma frowned, Vegeta being kind was too foreign for her to digest. He's mean and nasty, and a bully! Actually, for real, he's been bullying her since her first day of school! And now Goku's out here describing him like he's a saint?! Ugh! Bulma slurped down the last of her drink as Chi Chi cooed over Goku and his life stories.

Bulma looked over to Raditz, "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Oh, were you ready to leave?" Chi Chi interrupted. "I'll come with you!"

"No, no you're okay," Bulma waved, "You stay here and enjoy. I'll just have Raditz walk me home."

"Works for me," Raditz said as he slid out of the booth. "I'll catch you later," he said to Goku and the pair bumped fists.

Bulma and Raditz laughed and chatted as he walked her back to her dorm. He was sweet, and definitely seemed more genuine than stupid Yamcha. She already knew she wanted to see him again. Once they reached her dorm, she turned around to say her goodbyes.

"I had fun tonight," Bulma grinned as she looked up at Raditz. "But maybe next time it could be just the two of us," she added flirtatiously and reached to lightly touch his arm.

Bulma was surprised when he pulled away and ran his hand through his hair. Her eyes shot up to meet his and found him cringing. The lavender haired girl suddenly felt so crushed. Wow. Cool.  _Another_  boy was about to reject her.

"I'm sorry-" she began, maybe she could backpedal and make this less awkward.

"No, Bulma," Raditz interrupted. "I'm sorry! You're like super hot and nice and stuff, but I really just can't get in the middle of this weird, messy thing you have with Geets."

Bulma's mouth fell open. "Excuse me?! There is absolutely  _nothing_  going on between me and Vegeta!" she all but screamed.

Raditz smirked at her reddened cheeks. "I don't know if I believe that," he replied with a chuckle.

She went to sputter out some excuse, deny these preposterous allegations, but nothing would come out. "Good night!" she settled on with a frustrated frown before Bulma aggressively entered her dorm and slammed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who has been reading and leaving comments! hearing that you're enjoying the story keeps me motivated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI this chapter is a collection of smaller scenes

Chi Chi's eyes scanned the pages of her beautifully color coded notes as she crammed for the upcoming Chemistry quiz. She was rereading the section on ionic and covalent bonds, but became momentarily distracted when someone placed a cup on the corner of her desk.

The raven haired girl looked up to find Goku with a second, identical cup in his hand. "What's this?" she asked with a shy smile.

"Its tea, because you don't like coffee," he replied and her smile grew even wider.

"Thank you," she said as she gazed up at him with big brown eyes.

"You're welcome," Goku smirked. "Good luck on the quiz." He gave her a little nod and headed for his desk as the bell rang.

When Chi Chi turned the cup around to see what flavor he had chosen, she found a note written on the side of the cup. 'Movies tonight?'

A hand came up to cover her mouth and the cheesy grin that was threatening her lips. He was seriously the cutest dang thing. Chi Chi quickly pulled out her phone and texted him, 'I'd love to!'

* * *

Bulma walked into Calculus and found Vegeta with his head resting on his desk. She sat down at her own and turned around to look at him, "Oh no!" she pretend pouted, "Did someone not get enough sleep last night?"

He didn't move, only grunting in response. "Do you have to study  _all night long_  just to keep up with me?" she teased, and that got him. He sat up to glare at her and Bulma noticed the redness around his nose and the tiredness under his eyes.

"Ugh, you look like shit."

"You always look like shit," he grumbled, and Bulma realized his voice was significantly more nasally than usual.

"Ew, you're like actually sick!" Bulma laughed.

"Obviously," he muttered as he set his head back down on his desk.

"Why bother coming to class? You could just stay home."

"I can't miss class. My dad doesn't think this is a valid excuse for an absence." Bulma frowned. The more she learned about Headmaster Ouji the more she understood why Vegeta could be so callous. It wasn't much of a leap to surmise that Vegeta never had the kind of nurturing that Bulma's mom gave her in her youth. Knowing how much he would hate to hear pity, she turned around without another word.

* * *

Chi Chi was reading alone out on the fields while the lacrosse team practiced, or at least she was trying to read. After her movie date with Goku the night before all she could think about was him and the butterflies she felt when they held hands or how her lips still tingled from when he kissed her good night.

She couldn't get over how sweet he was and how much she really liked him. As if her thoughts conjured him up, the shadow of a tall figure covered her. She looked to find Goku smiling down at her, a duffle with this lacrosse equipment in hand.

"Can I join you?" he asked. Fresh off the field, he still wore his practice clothes. She loved the way his shirt and shorts hugged tightly against his muscles, revealing more of his appealing physique than his school uniform did.

"Of course," Chi Chi smiled as she closed her book and set it down beside her.

"You don't have to stop reading on my account," Goku said as he plopped down next to her. "I just wanted to be here with you."

Chi Chi's heart fluttered. It just seemed like everything he did and said made her melt. "Do you want a brownie?" she asked pulling a container full of fudgy goodness out of her bag.

Goku's face lit up. "You know I do!"

She passed the container to him and he began chowing down. The raven haired girl was pleased to see how much he enjoyed them. She had packed significantly more brownies than she would ever eat herself, secretly hoping that Goku would join her like he did.

The pair sat in the grass and enjoyed the afternoon sun, chatting about school and life.

* * *

Vegeta was already irritated that his body was betraying him with this sickness, the knock at his door only served to increase his ire. He rolled out of bed for the first time that day, he had decided to skip class when he woke up feeling worse than the day before.

His legs felt weak and his head ached from the sinus pressure. He almost never got sick, so he didn't have much experience dealing with it. He trudged across the room, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head.

He opened the door and was surprised to find a a pair of bright blue eyes gazing up at him. "Oh good, you're not dead," Bulma said without greeting.

"Why do you know where I live?" he asked tiredly, he didn't have the energy to deal with the feisty lavender haired girl right now.

"I don't know if that really matters anymore," Bulma replied as she pushed past Vegeta and into his dorm. "How do you have your own room?" Bulma inquired as she noticed there was only one bed. His eyes called her stupid before he closed the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Oh duh. Headmaster's kid.

"Why are you here?" he grumbled.

"Well I thought you might need the Calculus notes since you missed class today, and since I was already coming I thought I might bring you some goodies," Bulma said as she lifted the grocery bag she had been holding.

Vegeta lifted a curious brow as Bulma made her way to his bed. She set the bag down and reached inside, "sports drink for electrolytes," she tossed the bottle onto the bed and reached into her bag again. "Decongestant because if you're talking like that you probably can't even breathe out your nose. Soup cause you know its a classic, and then some crackers too, of course." She continued to rummage through the bag pulling out all the items she had brought him.

When she was done Bulma turned to smile at him, but Vegeta was staring at the items she had placed on his bed. "Why'd you get all this for me?" he questioned, not suspicious just genuinely confused.

"Umm," Bulma bit her lip, "I don't know really. This is what I want when I'm sick and I know that someone like Chi Chi would get it for me." She hesitated a moment, suddenly feeling shy. "I guess, I just wasn't sure if you had anyone to get you this kind of stuff."

Vegeta looked like he was still trying to wrap his head around it, as if her kindness was just beyond his comprehension. "But aren't we like...  _enemies_?"

Bulma chuckled when he finally turned to look at her. "Oh, is that what we are?" She smirked as they locked eyes.

They gazed at each other for a long moment. "I don't know," he finally said.

* * *

Bulma hummed to herself as she lounged on her bed and mindlessly scrolled through her social media feed. Her mind wandered to Vegeta and what he might be doing. Was he feeling better? Was he thinking of her, too?

It was odd, the situation they had gotten themselves into. Rivals but not quite enemies that shared one hell of a kiss. Other people seemed to think there was something going on between them, but did Vegeta?

Bulma was torn from her musings when she heard something heavy hit the ground with an unceremonious thud. She looked up to find one of Chi Chi's textbooks had been hurled across the room; when she looked over at the raven haired girl she was fussing and throwing everything off her desk.

Bulma just watched, stunned and slightly amused. She had never seen her mild mannered roommate throw a full on tantrum before.

"I hate school!" Chi Chi huffed as she tossed herself on her bed. "I don't even care about stupid college!"

"Chi, are you ok?" Bulma said as she approached her roommate who was lying face down on the bed. "What's with the melodrama?" Chi Chi mumbled a reply into her pillows, that she couldn't quite make out.

"What?" Bulma asked as she came to sit on the edge of Chi Chi's bed.

The raven haired girl lifted her head and spoke again, "I'm fine." Then plopped her face back in her pillow.

"So what was that all about?"

Chi Chi hesitated but eventually rolled over to look at Bulma. A disappointed pout on her lips as she spoke, "I got my test scores back, and they're… well not great."

Bulma had almost forgot most of her peers would be taking their standardized tests for college admission about this time. The lavender haired genius had taken them on a whim her freshman year and got perfect scores. It was probably the most responsible thing she'd done in her high school career.

She understood that school didn't come as easily for everyone as it did for her, but Bulma still lifted a surprised brow. Her roommate was constantly studying, so Bulma had always assumed Chi Chi had good marks.

"There's still time to take the tests again," Bulma offered trying to be encouraging.

"Yeah, I guess," Chi Chi sighed.

"You didn't mean that right?"

"Mean what?"

"That you don't care about college?" Bulma asked.

Chi Chi averted her gaze and shrugged. "I don't know... I mean… I don't know." Bulma could tell that her roommate was struggling to sort out her feelings on the matter, so she grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Its okay," Bulma said softly.

"It's just…" Chi Chi paused. "I don't think I know what I want. I always imagined myself going to college, because I know that's what my parents expect of me. They've put so much money into my education already… just thinking about not going to college feels like I'm failing them." She paused, her voice going hoarse as she choked back a sob, "I don't want them to be disappointed in me."

"Chi, I don't think they'll be disappointed. University isn't for everybody. Maybe you can make a career out of something else! What are you good at?" Bulma asked with a reassuring smile.

Chi Chi frowned, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I don't feel like I'm good at anything!" she whined.

Oh shit. Maybe that was a bad question to ask, Bulma tried to backpedal. "Well, what do you like to do?"

"I don't know," Chi Chi sniffled. "Bake."

"Good news!" Bulma declared joyfully, "Baking is a career! I, on the other hand, like to go shopping, but unfortunately haven't found anyone to pay me to do that yet!" Chi Chi giggled and Bulma was happy to see her friend's smile returning.

"Hey, why don't we go make some cookies, but instead of bake them we'll just eat the dough!" Bulma suggested. "Would that help you feel better?"

Chi Chi nodded so Bulma pulled her off the bed and over to the kitchen.

* * *

Vegeta growled when someone let themselves into his dorm. There was only two people who would dare do that, and he really didn't feel like seeing either of them. Actually, he really didn't feel like seeing anyone. He rolled over in bed to find his ever cheery best friend smiling at him.

"Missed you at practice today!" Goku greeted. Vegeta closed his eyes and pretended he wasn't there, but Goku just laughed.

"I brought you some dinner!" he sang, knowing food would get Vegeta's attention.

"Ugh, fine," Vegeta groaned as he threw the blanket off himself and sat up in bed. "What'd you bring me?"

Goku smiled as he held up a greasy brown paper bag. "Cheeseburger!"

"Bleh! That's not why sick people want," Vegeta whined as he threw himself back down on his bed. He snatched his blanket and pulled it over himself. "I already ate some soup anyway."

"Whatever, I'll eat yours too then," Goku shrugged as he made himself at home at Vegeta's desk. "Where'd you get the soup?" Goku asked between bites, not bothering to chew before speaking.

"What?"

"The soup you ate. As far as I know all you ever keep in your pantry is protein powder and granola bars."

Vegeta hesitated before rolling over to hide his redden cheeks. "Delivery service," he blurted nervously.

Goku shoved the last of his first burger into his mouth, before replying. "Oh cool."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the love on this fic! I really appreciate all your comments! 
> 
> I wanted to let you guys know I'm going to take a little break from posting during Vegebulocracy's Mini Bang event, I'm not participating but there's slated to be over a dozen great stories that I need to read!! lol  
> My beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine), wrote a fic for it so, please go show her some love!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)!!

Vegeta woke after only a few hours of restless sleep to the blaring alarm on his phone. He had stayed up late again finishing his homework and studying for upcoming midterms. Between practice, his club meetings, and trying to eat some dinner he wasn't able to even get started on his schoolwork until late in the evening.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and retrieved his phone to silence the alarm, only to find an unread text from his father.

' _Meet me in my office before first period_.'

Vegeta grumbled as his eyes read over the message, he'd have to hurry and get ready now, possibly skip breakfast to make it to class before the bell. Begrudgingly, he rolled out of bed and began dressing in his uniform.

* * *

"Sir?" Vegeta called as he knocked on his father's office door.

"Good morning, son," Headmaster Ouji greeted as he looked up from the papers on his desk. "Have a seat."

His father's assistant walked in, a moment later, with a cup of coffee to hand to the headmaster. "Hey, can you get me one of those, too?" Vegeta asked, "please."

She smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but Headmaster Ouji interjected, "Don't. He doesn't need one." His assistant looked between Vegeta and his father awkwardly before dismissing herself from the room and closing the door behind her.

"You're much too young to be relying on caffeine to get you through the day," Headmaster Ouji admonished. "If you're tired, you should go to sleep earlier."

Vegeta slumped in his usual chair. If only it were that easy.

Knowing better than to argue, Vegeta asked his father what he wanted to discuss. He had been racking his brain since he read his father's text earlier and had a handful of guesses.

"I saw your college admission test scores came in," his father began and Vegeta tensed. He had seen them, too. They were an improvement from his last attempt and better than all his friends, but he still wasn't sure they were up to his father's impossibly high standards. "They were… good."

Vegeta released a breath he hadn't realized he'd be holding. He felt relieved even if the praise wasn't very enthusiastic.

"But…"

Of course. There was always a 'but'.

"I'm sure you can do better. I've scheduled you time with a private tutor for the next few weeks and you can take the test again this summer before applications are due."

"The next few weeks? But I super slammed right now, I have term projects and finals coming up. Not to mention were still in the middle of the lacrosse season!" Just thinking about taking on another commitment had Vegeta wanting to pull his hair out. He was exhausted and stressed enough as it was.

"There will be no arguments!" His father declared before launching into a lecture about the dangers of settling for 'good enough'. According to his father, he should constantly be striving for greatness, anything less than fucking perfection seemed to be a failure in his eyes.

Vegeta resigned as he felt any protest die in his throat. The weight of another obligation settled on his shoulders as he quietly listened to his father's grandiose speech, until he was literally saved by the bell.

He trudged into his first period class and slid into his desk with a sigh. It was going to be a painfully long day, he could already tell.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Bulma teased, referring to his scowl. Vegeta just grunted and leaned forward on his desk, supporting his head with his hand. The ever boisterous girl in front of him just flipped her hair and faced forward, seemly miffed about being ignored.

Class began and Vegeta did his best not to fall asleep. His lack of participation must have been noticeable because Ms. Fasha called him up to work a problem on the board. He shuffled over and grabbed the marker from his teacher before eyeing the problem wearily. He hadn't been paying close attention to the lesson, but he went for it anyway.

The moment he clicked the cap on the marker, Bulma's hand shot straight up, fingers spread with obnoxious enthusiasm. Ms. Fasha called on her and she began a meticulous explanation as to how he did everything wrong. "...so actually in this equation the limit does not exist," Bulma declared.

"Perfect! Thank you, Bulma!" Ms. Fasha smiled. "Vegeta, you can return to your seat now."

He could feel her smug smile aimed at him every step he took back to his desk. "Ouch! That was embarrassing for you!" she taunted.

"Can you just shut up?" he sighed and Bulma frowned. She turned back around in her seat, but her brow remained furrowed. This was not their usual game, something about him was off today.

Vegeta seemed to make a hasty exit the moment after the bell rang, but Bulma grabbed on his sleeve to stop him. He turned over his shoulder and scowled at her. "Are we going to get together after school today or what?"

"Why would we do that?"

Bulma scoffed, "To do this term project!"

Vegeta groaned as he remembered the upcoming due date. "Fine, you can come over to my dorm after I get out of practice." He torn his arm from her grasp. "I know you know where it is since you're such a fucking stalker."

Bulma grimaced at the unprovoked diss. Ew. He was in a really foul mood today, and that was saying something for Vegeta.

* * *

"You're room is a lot messier than last time I was here," Bulma observed as her eyes scanned the dorm. His unmade bed. The piles of laundry on the floor. At least it didn't smell bad, which was borderline miraculous for a teenage boy's room.

"I've been extremely busy and cleaning is not my priority," Vegeta grouched as he rummaged through his desk. "I never invite guests over anyway."

"Oh, so should I be flattered that I'm here then?" Bulma teased.

"Tch." He seemed to find what he was looking for as he pulled out a ziplock bag with a few pills from inside of his desk. He fished one out, popped into his mouth and swallowed without even a drink of water. Vegeta shoved the bag back into the drawer and turned to look at her.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he said to her with a bored expression.

"What was that?" she asked nosily.

"Adderall," Vegeta replied plainly. "And no, I don't share."

"Oh," Bulma said unable to hide her surprise, "so do you have like ADHD or something?"

"No, but Kakarot does."

"Why would you be taking his medication?"

"Aren't you from the city? How are you so naive?" Vegeta spat condescendingly as he dug through his backpack for his notebook.

Bulma frowned, kids at her old school drank, some smoked weed, but she didn't know anyone who was popping pills. Drugs were drugs, but casual consumption of pharmaceuticals just seemed worse.

"Why take it, if you don't actually need it?" she questioned. Vegeta scoffed, he certainly wasn't in the mood to debate the morality of his methods, but he wasn't about to let this annoying girl bounce around on her high horse.

"Plenty of people take it to help them study, okay?" he defended a little too aggressively. "You don't get perfect grades like mine without some  _help_."

"Uhm, I do..." Bulma mumbled without thinking and Vegeta scowled at the perceived insult.

"Well congratu-fucking-lations, but you're not also the captain of the lacrosse team, vice president of the student council  _and_  in the honor society! Are you?!" With each word his voice rose in volume and he stepped closer to Bulma until he was in her face.

That's when she began to connect the dots. "Hey," she began in soothing voice, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. "It's okay. Breathe."

Vegeta realized that he was being unnecessarily hostile. It wasn't so much her question, as it was this whole day that had him on edge. So he obeyed her command and closed his eyes while taking a deep breath, attempting to regain some semblance of composure.

"It's sounds like you put a ton of pressure on yourself, but I'm sure even if you let go of one of your activities, you'll still get into a great university and it might help save your sanity," she offered with a small but genuine smile.

Bulma definitely felt similar pressure, when you're a junior in high school all anyone ever talks about is where they're going to university. With his popularity and being the headmaster's son and all, she was sure only the best was acceptable in his eyes.

His brow furrowed and he shrugged off her comforting hands. "You still don't get it," he growled. "It's not  _me_  putting all this pressure on myself, it's my  _father_!" He began pacing and gesturing wildly, the frustration evident on his face, "And that's why I don't have a choice! He demands that I be perfect, that I am the best at everything!"

Vegeta's booming voice caused her to cower slightly. He was right though, she didn't understand, because she couldn't relate whatsoever. Bulma had always been wholly consumed by her father's lack of attention, that she had never contemplated the opposite extreme: a father so overbearing that it was suffocating.

"I try so hard." His angry facade cracked with his voice. "I'm killing myself just to please him, but nothing I ever do is good enough! He's literally everywhere and he can't help but put me down every chance he gets."

His face grew red and tears began to form in his eyes. "Oh ho ho, and of course it's always better with an audience right? He tells me I'm a disappointment in front of my friends, like he wants to humiliate me on top of everything else."

Seeing his distress, Bulma felt compelled to soothe him, so she wrapped her arms around him in a firm but comforting embrace. He resisted at first then relaxed as his head bowed into her chest and his body shook softly as he finally let himself cry.

"I just - can't - take it anymore," Vegeta's words were muffled and broken up by sobs. Bulma didn't say anything, she just rubbed his back, silently encouraging him to let it out.

His arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing her close as he returned her embrace. Though his brain reminded him there wasn't much to be done about his situation, it was surprisingly cathartic to let go of everything he'd been bottling up.

His head rested on her chest and he felt himself calming down as he breathed in her scent. It was sweet but light, likely the result of some fruity shampoo. He liked it. He also liked the way they fit together, their bodies molding as one and the way she caressed him so tenderly.

Vegeta wasn't sure how long he let her hold him like that. His tears had stopped falling, but he wasn't ready to let go. Instead, he relished the way her soft warmth enveloped him. Instead of his never ending to do list, his mind focused on the steady thrumming of Bulma's heart and the way her nimble fingers skated over his back in a soothing figure eight.

He lifted his head but didn't move to release her, instead resting his forehead against hers. His eyes remained closed as he inhaled a deep breath, unable to face reality just yet. Her fingers stilled before she moved her hand up to palm his cheek. A thumb swiped away at the lingering moisture from his tears.

"Vegeta…" Bulma whispered and he could feel her breath against his lips.

A magnetism he was too weak to resist had Vegeta gently pressing his lips into hers without thinking. It was only a moment before he felt her lips move, reciprocating his unexpected kiss. At her acceptance, his grip on her waist tightened as he pulled her body flush against his.

Vegeta didn't let her finish her thought, but he could taste the compassion in every press of her lips against his. Soft pecks quickly evolved into something more urgent and heated. Bulma's tongue coaxed his lips apart as her fingers threaded through his hair and pulled him closer to deepen their kiss.

His palms slid up the curve of her back, her body felt so small in his hands. After several moments, he begrudging pulled away from the comfort of her pillowy soft lips. Their breath heavy from the suddenness and intensity.

When Vegeta looked into her surprised blue eyes, it was like he finally realized what he had just done. He blushed furiously, trying to find the right words to say.

"I - I didn't mean that," he stuttered, backing away from her cautiously, as if she was a dangerous animal. Bulma stood there, lips parted, but unable to speak.

"I actually just remembered I have somewhere else to be," Vegeta lied. "We can do the project later," he told her as he rushed out the door without any of his belongings.

Bulma, left alone in Vegeta's room, stared at the door he had just exited. When he had kissed her at the school festival, it was hot and as cocky as his everyday personality.

But this, this was so different. It was tender and sweet, as if he was pleading to her. This kiss made her feel  _needed_. Bulma reached up and touched her lips, trying to decide if she wanted him to kiss her again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lots of love for my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

"Hey, how are you today?" Bulma asked softly as she stood in front of Vegeta's desk, her voice laced with sympathy. He sat up, placing a notebook on his desk before he met her eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," he replied in a frustrated whisper, before reaching in his backpack again to grab a pen. "Pretend, yesterday never happened, I was just really stressed, okay?" Vegeta said, this time without meeting her gaze, he instead fixed his sights toward the whiteboard.

Bulma pursed her lips together, slightly annoyed by his cold shoulder. "Well, I just wanted to say that if you get  _stressed_  again, that I'm here for you." At that, he looked up and noticed the sincerity in her blue eyes. He thought he should say something, but their teacher walked in and Bulma took her seat without another word.

Vegeta was absolutely mortified by the way he acted in front of her the day before. Showcasing his vulnerability in front of the girl he considered his rival, only to then be so wrapped up in the comfort she offered that he actually fucking kissed her. He was pathetic, an absolute joke.

Vegeta was sure she must have thought so, too.

Maybe not, though. Bulma had the chance to rub in his face, to embarrass him in front of their classmates but she had chosen not to.

After class, Bulma turned around in her seat to face Vegeta as he packed up his belongings. "Did you want to get together after school today, so we can do the project?"

Oh fuck. He had totally forgot that yesterday's ordeal prevented them from even doing the work she had come over to do. "Um, yeah that works."

"Cool, I'll come by your dorm after last period."

His dorm? "Uh, actually…" he hesitated. It was stupid, but he didn't trust himself to be alone with her. Vegeta was almost certain she would trick him into talking about his  _feelings_. He'd really rather not relive yesterday's humiliation. "Let's meet in the library," Vegeta finished as he stood from his desk.

"Oh, okay," Bulma shrugged as they made their way to the door. "I'll see you then," she waved and turned to walk down the opposite hall. One moment she was insulting him or one upping him, the next she was trying to take care of him when he was sick or comfort him. Vegeta watched as she walked away, trying to reconcile all the contradicting feelings he had for the lavender haired girl.

* * *

Chi Chi and Bulma sat at the lacrosse team's table at lunch. It wasn't something they had ever really discussed, just something that came to be.

Chi Chi's spot was always next to Goku, his friends would even move just to make room for her. Since joining their table, she started a habit of packing three times the amount of dessert she used to, that way she could share with Goku. He was always so enthused by her treats and gave her so much praise it made her blush.

Vegeta and Bulma usually bickered the entirety of lunch, even forcing the other's at the table to weigh in on their arguments. Today, they were both uncharacteristically quiet, but Chi Chi didn't give it much thought. She was too distracted the way Goku's eyes lit up as she unpacked today's treat.

"I always look forward to lunch, because of your desserts!" Goku beamed at the raven haired beauty next to him.

"Really?" Chi Chi asked as heat flooded her cheeks, it was so nice to feel appreciated for her efforts. She had stayed up late the night before experimenting with ingredients and made some tweaks to an old family recipe to give it her own flavor.

"Well that, and getting to be with you, of course," he amended and her smile grew into a full on grin. She took one cupcake out for herself and passed the other five to him. Goku looked absolutely giddy as he licked his lips.

He peeled back the wrapper and took a bite that was nearly half the cupcake, before closing his eyes and practically moaning, "I love chocolate! Its like you can read my mind!"

"I can't read your mind, Goku!" Chi Chi chuckled. "Everyday you tell me you like chocolate."

"Oh, that's right!" Goku laughed.

After the bell rang, Goku and Chi Chi walked to Chemistry class together, another new habit she was growing fond of. The raven haired girl was surprised when she felt Goku's fingers slip between hers, holding her hand in his warm grasp. She gazed up at him with big brown eyes.

"Is this okay?" he asked. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. They navigated through the halls, chatting away as they usually did, but Chi Chi's heart fluttered at an irregular pace. They had held hands before, but such a public display of affection made it feel as though their relationship was progressing to the next level.

* * *

Bulma and Vegeta walked into the library together after last period in search of a space to work on their term project. Much to Vegeta's chagrin all the group tables were occupied.

"Looks like there's a reading nook available," Bulma suggested. Vegeta frowned, the reading nooks were much  _cozier_ than the tables, and the whole point of coming to the library was to avoid close proximately and the potential for him to embarrass himself again.

Man, he hated this. He wasn't used to not being in control of how he was feeling. Sensing his disinterest, Bulma added, "Or we could just go back to your dorm?"

"No, the nook is fine," Vegeta grumbled as he made his way over to the nearest one. The pair settled in, pulling their notebooks and supplies from their respective backpacks.

They read through the project outline and decided to divide up the work. Perfect, then he wouldn't really need to talk to her.

Vegeta grew annoyed as he felt her repeatedly glance at him out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't exactly subtle. Bulma's foot fidgeted anxiously next to his and he could tell she had something on the tip of her tongue. This better not be about yesterday.

"So about yesterday..." she began, and Vegeta groaned.

"I'm not talking about what happened and I'm definitely not talking about my dad."

"Okay fine, let's talk about my dad."

"What?"

"Yeah, I mean I was thinking about telling you this yesterday while you were… ya know," she didn't want to say ' _crying_ ', she could tell he was still feeling embarrassed about it. "But then you…" she hesitated again. " _Ya know_." She realized she also didn't want to say ' _started kissing me_ ', but from the way Vegeta covered his face with his hand, he knew exactly what she was referring to.

"Okay," he mumbled, his cheeks heated, "just spit it out then."

"I have a rocky relationship with my dad, too," she confessed. He titled his head with intrigue, unsure where this conversation was headed.

"You really hit the nail on the head that day I slapped you in the hall." Vegeta grimaced, he didn't want to be reminded of how mean he'd been that day. "My dad doesn't pay any attention to me, that's why I started acting out at my old school. Throwing that party that got me expelled among other things."

Vegeta watched her sad blue eyes look down in her lap as she fumbled her fingers. Her voice grew smaller, "looking back I was so stupid. Getting in trouble wasn't how I wanted to go about getting his attention anyway. I want him to notice me for the all the good things I do."

Bulma's gaze lifted and they caught eyes. "I'm not saying I know what you're going through exactly," she sighed, "I guess I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. I'm sure everyone wants their parents to be proud of them, but it's just harder with fathers like ours."

Vegeta surprised himself when he reached out and grabbed her hand in his and they sat there in quiet understanding for several moments.

Bulma squeezed his hand before letting go, "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I know you didn't want to talk about yesterday."

He picked up his pencil and turned his attention back to his notes. Vegeta anxiously chewed the inside of his cheek, struggling to figure out if or how he should respond. "Thanks," he muttered, "for saying all that." Bulma smiled and gave him a little nod before returning to the work in front of her.

* * *

One glance at Vegeta had told her she was attracted to him, but now it felt like maybe, Bulma might actually... just a tiny bit  _like_   _him_.

Ever since their conversation in the library, Bulma had felt as though she and Vegeta had come to an understanding. It wasn't that they didn't compete or bother each other anymore, but for some reason Bulma had found herself seeking reasons to be around him.

That was probably the main motivation for attending the lacrosse game with Chi Chi that day. It was against their rival school and according to her roommate a very important game for their standings in the division.

Chi Chi had become quite the die hard fan once she and Goku got involved. Not just showing up to support him and the team, but learning about the sport itself. Bulma was even wearing one of raven haired girl's t-shirts, she had seemed to accumulate quite the collection since the school festival weeks ago.

The girls sat in the bleachers watching the team play their rival school. Her roommate hollered as she shook her orange and navy pom pom. "Let's go, boys! You got this!"

It was a hard fought game, but the Orange Star team still lost. If Bulma knew Vegeta (which she did), then he was pissed. He was probably running through every play in his mind beating himself up about the things he could have done differently, as if their loss was completely on his shoulders. She knew that line of thinking stemmed from the way his father conditioned him.

Headmaster Ouji had watched from a distance as Vegeta exited the locker room, looking as angry as ever. ' _Good. He should be_ ,' he thought. His son had really dropped the ball this game, his teammates needed leadership, but Vegeta was seemingly distracted. This would not do, the next home game was expected to have college scouts. If he wanted to play at the next level, he'd really need to shine.

He had every intention of going up to his son to tell him just that, but the Briefs girl got to Vegeta before he could. How peculiar. From their passing conversation in his office, the headmaster was under the impression his son and Bulma Briefs did not get along.

Headmaster Ouji hung back, leaning against the bleachers, and quietly observed their interaction. Vegeta practically yelled as he spoke to her, cursing and gesturing wildly. The headmaster rolled his eyes, his son was always so dramatic.

Vegeta's behavior and fury at the team's loss was expected, but the way the Briefs girl reacted to him was especially curious. She spoke calmly and at a volume the headmaster couldn't hear. When Vegeta accused her of not understanding, both father and son widened their eyes as Bulma grabbed Vegeta by the face, staring into his eyes as she spoke.

She held his face in both her hands, and he surprisingly allowed it. His son remained silent and listened, giving her a nod every so often. Whatever she said to him had Vegeta visibly relaxing. Headmaster Ouji raised a intrigued eyebrow when his son embraced the girl in a seemingly intimate hug.

Clearly, Bulma Briefs had his son wrapped around her little finger. What she was hoping to accomplish with such influence was yet to be seen, but her ability to stamp out his competitive fire was more than a little concerning to Headmaster Ouji.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love your comments so much! I really appreciate you guys taking the time to tell me that you're enjoying the story! ❤️


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to my lovely beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

After gym class, Vegeta and Goku were changing at their nearby lockers.

"You know who's, like, way hot that I never noticed before?" one of their classmates across the way said to his companion. "Chi Chi King."

Vegeta noticed the way Goku stiffened at the mention of his romantic interest's name.

"She's got a tight little ass and this whole 'I'm so innocent' thing, I bet she's actually a freak in the bedroom," the boy laughed. Goku was fuming, he did not like to hear someone talk about his girl like that. Maybe she wasn't officially 'his girl' but she definitely would be… hopefully.

"I'd tap that," the other boy agreed.

He was about to turn around and give these guys a piece of his mind, when he felt Vegeta grip his arm. Goku looked over at his best friend to see him shaking his head and a look that said 'don't do it'. He let out a frustrated sigh and release his tightly gripped fists.

"That girl is obsessed with you, it's not like you need to piss all over her," Vegeta said as he kicked off his gym shoes.

"First of all, that's a gross analogy," Goku muttered, "and second I'm not so sure anymore." He frowned as he tossed his shirt into his locker. "She keeps telling me about all these guys who are suddenly being real friendly to her. And then she missed sitting at lunch with me because some other guy asked to 'copy her notes'." He slumped down on the bench before continuing, "Do you think she's trying to make me jealous?"

"I don't know, maybe," Vegeta shrugged as he leaned back against the wall of lockers.

"Kami, I didn't realize I had so much competition. Like I better ask her to Prom before someone else does."

"You're already thinking about Prom?"

"It's only like a month away. Aren't you?"

"Nope, not at all." Vegeta turned back around to hide his face in his locker and Goku smiled at his friend's out of character shyness. He stood and began to poke fun at Vegeta.

"Really? Is that so?" Goku teased.

"Yeah," Vegeta mumbled as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of his uniform.

"Because Cabba told me that he was thinking about asking Bulma until you told him she isn't into 'scrawny little runts' like him."

"I don't remember saying that," Vegeta lied as he began buttoning up his shirt and purposefully avoiding eye contact with Goku.

"Oh really? So there isn't any chance that you didn't want Cabba to ask her, so that you can?"

"Who's Bulma again?"

"Shut up! You know exactly who she is!" Goku laughed.

"Purple hair?"

"You're stupid," Goku chuckled with a shake of his head. "You know you could just ask her and say you're doing it as a favor to me. Then the four of us could go as a group."

"I'll think about it," Vegeta shrugged.

* * *

Bulma waited outside Chi Chi's classroom so they could walk back to their dorm together. She was confused as to what could be taking so long, until she spotted the raven haired beauty exit her class with a rather handsome stranger.

"Yeah, I'll text you and we can choose a time to meet up," Chi Chi said sweetly.

"Cool," the boy replied, and Bulma didn't miss the way his eyes glanced down at Chi Chi's chest before smiling at her face. "I'm looking forward to it."

Chi Chi gave him a wave as the boy walked away. When she turned around she found her roommate with a suspicious eyebrow raised. "Um, what was that?" Bulma asked.

"What? Oh him?" Chi Chi laughed. "He's just my new friend. He's having a hard time with our English assignment and asked me if I would tutor him."

"Are you sure that's it?" Bulma narrowed her eyes and Chi Chi nodded.

"Yeah. It's actually pretty funny, a lot of people having been asking me for help lately. Copying my notes or helping them with their homework."

"Oh yeah? And are all these people boys?"

"Um, well now that you mention it. I guess so," she shrugged innocently, and Bulma realized she was going to have to spell it out for her.

"Chi Chi, these boys don't need your help, they're all just flirting with you!"

"What!? No, that's silly!" a fierce blush crept onto the raven haired girl's cheeks. "I think everyone just knows I have very nice handwriting."

"I think everyone just knows you're super hot!" Bulma laughed.

"Tha - that doesn't even make sense! I mean, I haven't changed the way I look. What would make all these boys notice me all of the sudden?" Chi Chi was still in denial. She had never been on the receiving end of this much male attention, so she had just assumed it was all innocent.

"Hmm," Bulma hummed as she pressed a finger to her lips. Her blue eyes scanned her roommate, she was right, physically she looked exactly the same as the day they met. But there was one thing that had changed… "Its Goku," the lavender haired girl stated matter of factly.

"Goku?" Chi Chi blushed again. Just the mere mention of his name gave her butterflies. "What about him?"

"Ever since you guys started talking, I think you've gotten more confident. So even though you may not  _look_  different, you've been carrying yourself in a way that these other boys are clearly responding to."

Chi Chi bit her lip as she contemplated this possibility. She supposed since she and Goku had started talking she has felt differently. She smiles a lot more just thinking about him and the funny things he says. He's so sweet to her that it makes her feel wanted in a way that she didn't realize she had always wished to feel.

"Do you think Goku thinks all these boys like me?" Chi Chi asked, suddenly worried about hurting his feelings.

"I would say almost definitely," Bulma nodded. "But I don't think that's a bad thing per say. He should know that you're in high demand and if he wants you all to himself, that he needs to ask you to be his girlfriend."

Chi Chi's eyes lit up. "Do you really think he's going to do that?" she beamed.

"He better!" Bulma laughed as she hooked arms with her roommate and the pair strolled back to their dorm. "Or I'll have to have a serious talk with him!"

* * *

Chi Chi was navigating through the halls after school still thinking about what Bulma had said the day before. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or maybe now she was more aware, but it suddenly felt like everyone was staring at her.

Other students moved out of her way and whispered to each other as she exited the building into the courtyard. She couldn't help but feel like they were talking about her.

The crowd thinned and brown eyes grew bigger when she finally saw it. Hanging from the second story balcony a huge white banner that read:

'CHI CHI KING,  
will you be my QUEEN  
& go to PROM with me?'

The words were written in curly pink lettering, and a gold crown covered in excessive amounts of glitter was painted next to her name. She recognized immediately the handwriting was Bulma's, clearly indicating her roommate was a co-conspirator. Below the banner stood a grinning Goku with a bouquet of blooming pink roses. His uniform looked more tidy than usual, his tie was straight and it looked like he might have even attempted to tame that wild hair of his.

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth only partially concealing the excited squeal that escaped her lips. Dropping her book bag, Chi Chi rushed over and leaped into Goku's arms. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" She cried and the surrounding students cheered at the adorable scene. Some girls mumbled to each other about how lucky she was, while the boys whined about the incredibly high bar that had now been set.

Chi Chi pulled away just enough to smile up at Goku. Everyday he impressed her with how sweet and thoughtful he could be. She had never known anyone that made her feel so special.

She looked around at the crowd, noticing all the eyes on them. She wasn't used to being the center of attention like this. A sudden shy, nervousness began to over take her until she spotted her lavender haired roommate beaming with her phone at the ready. No doubt she had recorded the whole thing.

"Here," Bulma said motioning for them to position themselves under the huge poster. "I'll get some cute pics!"

Vegeta chuckled to himself as he observed his best friend and the spectacle he made in front of the school. Nothing like a ten foot tall banner to tell the whole male population of the school that this girl was his.

Unconsciously his sight drifted to Bulma, who was snapping pictures of Goku and Chi Chi in front of the big sign. He didn't really care much for Prom, but the idea of her going with someone else made him... inexplicably uncomfortable.

"Hey man!" Toma greeted throwing his arm over Vegeta's shoulders. He muttered a reply but didn't bother looking at his teammate. Toma's gaze followed Vegeta's line of sight and he hummed approvingly. "Mmm, that Bulma Briefs is one hot piece, am I right?"

Vegeta just grunted not particularly interested in entertaining 'locker room talk', instead he continued watching her smile brightly and gush with her overjoyed roommate. "Do you think she'd go to Prom with me?" Toma asked.

Vegeta stiffened and crossed his arms over his chest with forced nonchalance. "I wouldn't embarrass myself like that if I was you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Toma questioned, with mild offense. He pulled away from Vegeta to look at his face.

Vegeta shrugged, "I mean, don't say you heard it from me, but she tells everyone you have a goofy ass face."

"What a bitch," Toma mumbled with a frown, his sight falling to the ground in apparent disappointment.

"I know, right?"

"I always thought she was flirting with me!" Toma exclaimed throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Like how?" Vegeta said furrowing his brow and side eying his teammate. "Did she ever bring you any soup?"

"What?! Did you say soup?" Toma scrunched his face in confusion. "I don't know what your idea of flirting is Geets, but she just did normal stuff like laugh at my jokes and cheer for me at our games, stuff like that."

"Maybe it's you who has the weird idea of flirting, because that sounds like just being a nice person."

"You just agreed with me that she's a bitch!"

"Whatever," Vegeta muttered before walking away. He needed to decide if he really wanted to go to Prom with her, and quick. There's only so long he could deflect her other suitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys aren't ready for this prom chapter coming up!! 😜 as always I love to hear your thoughts in the comments! ❤️


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> special thanks to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Vegeta leaned up against the wall, his body angled at Bulma who was rummaging through her messy locker and gabbing away. He didn't care much for what she was talking about, he would never admit it, but he oddly loved to just listen to her voice.

Behind her locker door, outside of Bulma's vision, Vegeta spotted some fucking nerd named Chiaotzu making a beeline toward them. He was holding a bouquet of daisies and by the nervous way he carried himself, Vegeta deduced he was finding the nerve to ask Bulma to Prom.

Not on his watch.

Vegeta stood up straight and Chiaotzu caught his piercing black gaze before he froze in his tracks. It was a glare so mean, it would make a lesser man piss himself. The silent warning was enough to make the boy scramble away and Vegeta settled back against the wall of lockers, feeling pretty satisfied with himself.

"If I tell you something, can you promise not to make fun of me?"

"You know I'm not capable of making that promise," Vegeta smirked. Bulma snorted a laugh and pushed his shoulder playfully.

"Okay whatever, I'll tell you anyway," Bulma began. "I just... I feel so lame. Like, I really thought someone would've asked me to Prom by now." Vegeta could see the embarrassed blush as it crept onto her cheeks, despite her partially hiding her face in her locker.

"You wanna know what I think?"

"Yeah," Bulma replied quietly as she turned to look at him. Blue eyes sparkled with hope.

"I think you're incredibly vain for assuming anyone would want to take you in the first place," Vegeta laughed.

"Oh my gods, you are literally so annoying!" Bulma pouted as she began pummeling his chest with her tiny fists. He really never missed a chance to jest her!

"Bulma," he said with a chuckle, but she ignored him and continued her attack.

"I don't even know why I bother trying to be your friend! All you do is mock me!"

"Bulma!" he repeated louder as he grabbed her wrists to stop her assault. Pulled against his broad chest, blue eyes grew wide, her lips forming a little surprised 'o'.

He took a deep breath, but struggled to make eye contact with her. "Well I was thinking…" he felt heat rising in his cheeks and then he got mad at himself for being so dumb.

"...since  _nobody_ will ask you to Prom..." Vegeta paused, he couldn't help but add that emphasis implying no one wanted her - just to annoy her - when in fact the opposite was true. He finally gained the courage to look her in the eye and suggested "maybe I could take you."

"Really?" she smiled brightly at him. "You want to go to Prom with me?"

"Well, I didn't say I wanted to," he teased. "I just said I would take you."

Bulma huffed as she tore her hands away from his grasp. "Well then, no!"

"No?!" he frowned and she crossed her arms over her chest with a pout.

"I would only go to Prom with someone who actually wants me. I don't want your pity date!"

Vegeta let out a groan, so much for playing it cool. "Fine, I want to go to Prom with you," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I want to go to Prom with you," he repeated in a normal volume.

"And yet, I remained unconvinced," she smirked, finding way too much joy in vexing him.

Vegeta pursed his lips as he glanced at the students passing them by in the halls. She wasn't going to make this easy, was she? When his gaze returned to her, she was staring at him expectantly. With a single eyebrow raised and the corner of her mouth turned upward, she was daring him to admit how much he truly wanted her.

He quickly weighed his options, and decided he wasn't going to get away with acting so nonchalant.

"BULMA BRIEFS!" He shouted and her eyes widened at his volume. "PLEASE WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME!?"

Bulma suddenly grew self-conscious as other students stopped to watch the commotion, staring at them and whispering to each other. She jumped on him, attempting to cover his mouth. "I WANT TO GO TO PROM WITH YOU SO BAD!" he hollered.

"Stop it! People are staring!" Bulma pleaded, but she saw the way his eyes danced with amusement. If she wanted to embarrass him by making him admit that he wanted to go to Prom with her then he had to dish it back at her ten fold. That bastard.

"PLEASE BULMA!" he yelled through her fingers and she gave him a look of sheer disbelief.

"Okay, fine! Yes! Please just stop shouting!"

"SHE SAID YES, EVERYBODY!" Bulma just shook her head and laughed.

"Was that enough enthusiasm for you?" Vegeta chuckled.

"You're unbelievable."

* * *

"You summoned me?" Vegeta asked as he poked his head into his father's office.

"Yes, please take a seat," Headmaster Ouji said as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Vegeta closed the door behind him and took his usual seat. The setup was typical, Vegeta was often reprimanded or lectured while sitting in this chair.

There was just one thing that was off, Vegeta always knew why he was summoned to his father's office, but today he really had no clue. So the silent intimidation portion of their routine was especially nerve wracking. Vegeta stared into his father's serious eyes, willing him to just get this over with.

"I heard you asked Bulma Briefs to the prom."

Vegeta blanched. "How the fuck do you know that?" he blurted. "It just happened this morning!"

"First of all, you will  _not_  speak to me with such disrespectful language," Headmaster Ouji scowled, his eyes narrowing at his son. "And second, you should assume I know all the goings-on at this school. Especially when it pertains to you."

"I'm sorry, sir," Vegeta said passively.

"So about Miss Briefs..." his father began. Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose, he really did not want to get into the nature of his relationship with her. "Has she ever asked you to forgo your homework or skip class to be with her?"

"What? No, Dad. Bulma cares about school, too," Vegeta said, surprised by the direction this conversation was taking.

"Exactly. I'm sure she cares a lot about school and about being at the top of your class." Headmaster Ouji said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Being number one in your class means less if you have to share it. I'm sure she knows that, too. Don't be so naive as to think that a woman wouldn't manipulate you to get her way."

"That - that's not what she's doing!" Vegeta defended.

"How can you be so sure?"

Vegeta frowned and averted his gaze to the floor. Could he be sure her actions were genuine?

"You don't have to say anything," his father said. "Just promise me you'll think about it." Vegeta nodded silently. Headmaster Ouji dismissed him soon after and Vegeta walked out of his father's office feeling the sudden urge to replay every interaction he'd ever had with Bulma and dig up some duplicitous motive.

* * *

Once Mr. Salza excused the class to begin their lab, Chi Chi tapped on Cabba's shoulder. He turned around in his seat and smiled at her. "You ready?" she asked him.

"Oh, uhh," Cabba laughed, "I actually am not going to be your lab partner anymore."

Chi Chi wore a confused expression as she tilted head, "Wha - what do you mean? We've been partners all year."

"Goku Son actually gave me 50 bucks to trade partners with him. Sorry," he shrugged before getting up from his desk and walking away. Chi Chi turned to Goku across the room, who was already looking at her, scratching the back of his head and wearing his signature smile.

In most cases, Chi Chi would've found his effort endearing but after he had asked her to Prom, he had become so much more  _possessive_. This repeated behavior was staring to give her pause.

The raven haired girl was lost in her thoughts as she and Goku completed their lab work. When the bell rang, she made her way back to her desk to collect her belongings without a word. Goku trailed behind her as they made their way to the door. "You're going to come to practice today, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," she replied and gave him a soft smile.

* * *

Chi Chi had spent the entirety of lacrosse practice working out exactly what she wanted to say. She hadn't really had much experience in relationships, and she wanted to make sure she was being sensitive.

A sweaty Goku approached her with a smile as he wiped his face with a towel. "Hey," he greeted as he plopped down next to her in the grass. "Did you bring any treats today?"

"I actually didn't," she replied quietly. With him in front of her, she was starting to lose her nerve.

"Oh, well that's okay. Do you want to go grab some frozen yogurt then?"

"No, Goku," she replied, the corner of her mouth turning down. She wrung her hands in her lap anxiously. "We need to talk."

Goku's face fell and his breathing grew shallow. He knew what that meant.

Everyone knew what that meant.

"Ah - Are you breaking up with me?!" He couldn't hide the shock and hurt in his voice.

Chi Chi's eyes shot up to meet his, "No!" she exclaimed.

Goku visibly relaxed as he exhaled a deep breath. "Then what is this about?"

"Well, I mean it is about us," she sighed. "I guess, I've just been getting the feeling that you aren't very secure in our relationship."

"Huh?"

"I mean look at today! Cabba told me you  _paid_  him not to be my lab partner anymore." Goku averted his gaze down to the grass, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "You could've just asked me if you wanted to be partners. But it also begs the question, would you care if my lab partner was a  _girl_?"

Goku shrugged, still unable to meet her gaze as he nervously pulled grass out of the ground. "I love holding hands and snuggling up next to you, but I've just been noticing how much more affectionate you are when we're around other guys… almost like you're  _territorial_."

"Okay," Goku whispered. "I'll stop doing that."

"Goku, will you look at me? I'm not mad at you. I just want to know why. Is - is it because you don't trust me?" He finally looked up when he heard her voice crack. Her eyes were red, and tears were beginning to form. His heart ached thinking that he had hurt her feelings.

"It's not that… It's just… I - I don't know."

"You can tell me," Chi Chi said as she reached out and captured his hand in hers. "You can tell me anything."

"I guess…" he began, struggling to find the right words for what he was thinking. "I just feel like... nothing in my life has ever felt permanent. Not my family, not my home. I love my teammates but we're all going to graduate soon and go our separate ways. I…" he paused as he gazed into her big brown eyes, "I really like you a lot, Chi Chi. Like so much, it almost scares me. I just want to be with you as long as I can."

Chi Chi threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. The tears spilled from her eyes as her heart broke for him. She felt like she should've known, with his upbringing he lacked the parental stability most teenagers relied on. People were always swinging in and out of his life, social workers, foster parents, he almost had no say in who was around him.

Goku returned her embraced, holding her close as he nuzzled his face against her neck. "I don't mean to be overly possessive," he mumbled, "I just don't want anyone to take you away from me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Chi Chi promised.

* * *

Bulma lounged on her bed scrolling through her social media feed. "Umm Bulma, can I talk to you about something?" Chi Chi asked meekly from her bed.

"What's up?" she replied not looking up from her phone.

"Okay, so like I'm sorry if this is weird… but like I really don't know who else I could talk to. I just… like I can't talk to my mom, she wouldn't understand."

"Just spit it out," Bulma said growing impatient with her roommate's nervous rambling.

"I'm thinking about having…  _sex_." Chi Chi practically whispered as if it was a bad word. Bulma dropped her phone and looked at the raven haired girl with wide eyes.

"Really?!" she asked excitedly. Chi Chi nodded, she was clearly uncomfortable sitting stiffly on the edge of her bed.

"Kami, Chi Chi, you don't have to be so nervous! We're friends! This exactly the kind of thing I am here for!" Bulma's enthusiasm served to soothe some of her nerves.

"Thanks, it's just that I'm —"

"A virgin? I kind of figured that out," Bulma finished her sentence with a dismissive wave. Chi Chi frowned she was going to say 'inexperienced', but then she couldn't help but wonder what made that fact so obvious. Did Goku know too? What would he think?

"Ok, so most important question," Bulma began, " _Why_  do you want to have sex?"

Chi Chi pursed her lips, she had never really puzzled over the 'why' it just felt like the next step in the progression of her and Goku's relationship and after their conversation that day, she just wanted him to know that she was all the way in. "Well I guess I just really want to show Goku how much I like him."

"Err!" Bulma made a buzzer noise, "Wrong answer." Chi Chi furrowed her brow not expecting such a response. Bulma sat up on her bed, so she could look her roommate in the eye. "Chi, if you really like him and want to have sex that's totally fine, because that's what YOU want. But please don't do it because you think you need to  _prove_  your feelings to him or you owe him something."

Chi Chi looked down at the floor, suddenly wondering if that's what she was doing. "Sex can be a lot of fun and with the right person it can also be really special, but I promise you don't want to give away your first time just to prove a point." Bulma flopped back on to her bed and mumbled, "I would know."

The girls sat in silence for a moment, both caught up in their own thoughts. "Thanks, Bulma."

"Anytime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all your support so far! as always I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter! ❤️


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine), for all the support and advice!

Goku walked out of the locker room, still feeling the high of a great game. He made his way through the crowds searching to find Chi Chi, when someone grabbed him by the arm. He turned to find his coach, and another man he'd never seen before.

"Goku, do you have a moment? I have someone who is very interested in meeting you," his coach said and Goku nodded as he eyed the tall man standing behind his coach. The man wore a purple polo, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't look mean, per se, he just didn't look particularly friendly either. Goku suddenly worried he was in trouble.

"This is Mr. Piccolo," his coach introduced. "He's the head of the lacrosse program over at West City University. He was hoping to talk to you about your plans for the future."

Goku's eyes widened and his hand fidgeted with excitement. Sure, he had always fantasized about playing at the next level, but he'd never known if was smart enough to get into college, let alone get recruited by a top tier team. His mouth opened to reply, but he was speechless. Too overwhelmed to form a coherent thought.

His coach and Mr. Piccolo chuckled good naturedly at the boy. "Here's my card," Piccolo said, offering Goku a small paper. "Of course, you'll need to get past the admissions office first, but we would love to see you in a Wolves jersey next year. Call me if you have any questions."

Goku held the business card reverently. He read it over and looked back at up at the man who now wore a small smile. He nodded enthusiastically, "Yes sir! I am very interested in WCU! I'll definitely call you!"

His voice came out a mile a minute, and his coach laughed as he patted Goku on the back. "We know you'll do big things, Goku."

Vegeta watched the scene play out from a reasonable distance. Though he couldn't hear the man be introduced, he knew he was a college recruiter. Something ugly and jealous turned in his stomach. Vegeta was the team's captain, but everyone knew Goku was the star player.

His ability was half the reason Vegeta wanted Goku to come play for Orange Star in the first place, he needed someone with that level of talent to challenge him. What he hadn't expected was for Goku to surpass him so easily. And now his best friend was being recruited for university teams as a junior.

He grumbled to himself, through his jealousy, Vegeta was still able to be happy for Goku. He was very familiar with his rough upbringing, and knew Goku deserved good things to happen to him. It was likely that college wouldn't have even been an option, unless something like this came along. He would congratulate his friend when they talked about it.

Vegeta reminded himself there was still plenty of time for recruiters to show interest in him too. And at worst, he had a lot of other talents to fall back on. Vegeta was going to get into a great university, he was sure of it. His internal pep talk was interrupted when someone tapped on his shoulder.

When he turned around, Bulma pounced on him, grabbing his collar and pressing her lips to his with a fat smooch. Vegeta lurched his head back from surprise. Eyes wide, he quickly glanced around then looked back to the lavender haired beauty frowning in front of him. "What was that?" he asked.

"What?" Bulma huffed, clearly annoyed by his less than ecstatic reaction. "You think you have the monopoly on surprise kissing people?"

"Ugh, no! It was just unexpected, I was thinking is all," he replied defensively, before he glanced around again. His father apparently wasn't here, but Vegeta realized after that conversation in his father's office he didn't want him to know about his relationship with Bulma.

"Just thinking, ehh?" Bulma asked suspiciously, noticing the way his eyes scanned the passing crowd. She stepped closer placing her hands on his chest and lowering her voice. "Are you sure you weren't just worried everyone would find out about our  _secret affair_?" she asked dramatically, giving her voice a little accent for effect.

Vegeta fought the urge to laugh, as he grabbed her arms. "You know my wife can never find out about our love, she'll ruin my reputation," he replied, playing along with her little charade.

"Then we must meet at night! Come to my room tomorrow evening, there we can be alone and freely express our love."

"Wait, for real?" Vegeta asked, breaking character.

"I mean, yeah, if you want to. We could watch a movie or something." Bulma blushed, "Chi Chi will be gone for the weekend visiting her parents, so we would have the place to ourselves." Vegeta smirked as he agreed, feeling as though there was a little something suggestive in that invitation.

* * *

Bulma was mentally debating if she should do her homework or just take a nap, when there was a knock at the door. Weird. She wasn't expecting anyone until later, but she crossed the room and opened the door anyway.

"Oh hey, Goku."

"Hey, Bulma," Goku replied, seeming more shy than usual.

"I'm sorry, but Chi Chi isn't here right now," she informed him as she leaned against the door frame.

"Oh actually," he laughed as he scratched the back of his head, "I was here to see you."

Bulma lifted her brow in surprise. As much as she liked Goku, and loved helping him ask Chi Chi to Prom, she had never felt compelled to hangout  _just the two of them_. "Uh, ok. What can I do for you?"

"Can I come in?" he asked hopefully, and Bulma nodded as she sidestepped to let him past. They sat down and Goku proceeded to tell her all about the coach he met and amazing scholarship that awaited him. There was just one little thing standing in his way.

"So do you think you could tutor me? I just need to do well enough to get admitted into the school and the coach said he'd help take care of the rest."

"That sounds like an incredible opportunity," Bulma smiled, "I guess I am just a little confused. I'm not saying I won't, but why wouldn't you ask Vegeta to tutor you?"

"Oh well, yeah, ya know Geets is super busy with his own stuff and to be honest he's just not very patient. He knows that I'm not as smart as him but he gets annoyed when we do school work together. Like he doesn't understand how I don't understand," Goku explained.

Bulma couldn't help but snort a laugh imagining a frustrated Vegeta trying to breakdown a concept for his friend. "Okay," she smiled, "I can help you."

Goku lit up with excitement, "Really?! Oh thank you so much! I promise I'll work really hard, I'll do whatever you say!" The pair spent the next hour working on their plan of attack scheduling times for tutoring and when Goku would take his practice tests.

Goku's eyes scanned over the list Bulma wrote for him one more time as they said their goodbyes in the hallway outside Bulma and Chi Chi's dorm. "This is going to be tough," he sighed.

"But it will all be worth it, right?" Bulma reminded him with a wink.

"Do…" he hesitated, chewing on his lip. "Do you really think I'm smart enough to pull this off?"

With her hands on his shoulders, Bulma looked up into Goku's eyes and smiled genuinely, "hey, you don't need to worry, we're going to get you that scholarship, okay?"

Goku scooped her up into a big hug, "thank you, Bulma, you don't know how much this means to me." Their friendly embrace was cut short when they heard someone clearing their throat down the hall. Bulma turned to find Vegeta with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression.

"Hey Vegeta, what brings you to my dorm?" Bulma smirked knowingly.

He ignored her question and continued to glare at the pair, "what's he thanking you for?" Bulma fought the urge to roll her eyes, Vegeta was so dumb sometimes.

"Oh you know, I just agreed to have a hot threesome with him and Chi Chi," she shrugged and both boys turned bright red.

"You are so vulgar!" Vegeta grumbled, turning his face to hide his blush. "Nobody even remotely suggested that," he sputtered, "wh-why would you even say that!"

"Um, I'm going to go now," Goku added shyly.

"I can't believe the guy who suggested I had fucked a teacher is such a prude!" Bulma said, laughing at Vegeta's embarrassment.

"I'm no prude!"

"Wait, did you?" Goku asked with a wide eyed gaze darting to Bulma.

"What?! No!" she exclaimed, with a glare aimed at Goku. Her sights returned to Vegeta who stared at the wall next to him as if it was more interesting than this conversation. "Ugh, I'm done talking to you both!"

Bulma retreated back into her room and slammed the door for dramatic effect. Goku and Vegeta glanced at each other before breaking out into quiet laughter.

"I'm out of here, but you have good a night," Goku said with a teasing smirk and gave his friend a little two finger salute. Vegeta shook his head and waited for his friend to exit down the stairwell before running his fingers through his hair and checking his appearance in the reflection of his phone screen.

Bulma was standing with her arms crossed and staring at the door. She started to worry that maybe Vegeta took her seriously when she said she was done with them when she heard a knock. She opened it and Vegeta was leaning against the door frame with one hand looking as calm and cool as ever. "Are we still hanging out or what?"

"I guess," she sighed, feigning nonchalance. Bulma turned around and walked back into her dorm, leaving the door open for Vegeta to follow. He closed the door and stalked up behind her, before he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her back against his broad chest. Her breath hitched as his lips grazed her ear.

"What movie do you want to watch?" he whispered. His voice came out a little huskier than usual sending a pleasant shiver up her spine. Bulma bit her lip, the warmth of his presence combined with the way his thumb softly stroked her hip had her on the verge of melting.

In a flash, her wits returned to her and she stepped away from his hold. Whipping around, she held up a scolding finger at him. "None of that!" she declared.

" _None_  of that?" he repeated with an eyebrow raised, like he didn't believe her.

"Okay, fine, maybe some," she mumbled as a blush invaded her cheeks. "But later!" she amended after his lips broke into a devious yet irresistible smirk.

"All I did was ask what movie you wanted to watch," he shrugged innocently and Bulma fixed him with a glare that said ' _you know that wasn't all you did_ '. He raised his eyebrows and she rolled her eyes with a humorous huff.

"C'mon," she called and pointed to her bed. "You can sit there, let me just grab my laptop."

Vegeta hopped up on the bed and made himself comfortable, leaning back with his fingers laced behind his head. "'None of that,' she says. 'Oh just come lay on my bed,' she says," Vegeta mocked. Bulma turned to glare at him and he just laid there wearing an amused smile. "You really know how to give a guy mixed signals, Bulma."

"Oh, shut up! We're going to watching the movie on my computer, I just thought it'd be more comfortable."

"I'm starting to think this was just some elaborate plot to get me into your bed," Vegeta teased.

"Ugh, you wish!"

"Mmm, yeah I do," he hummed, his low husky tone returned and it had her blushing all over again.

"What do you want to watch?" Bulma asked, attempting to deflect from his bold come on. "I could do sci-fi, romance, ooh maybe a sci-fi romance! We could do horror or -"

"You like horror movies?" Vegeta interrupted, both surprised and amused.

Bulma laughed, "more like I like to  _make fun_  of them."

"I could be down for that."

An hour later, the pair sat in Bulma's blacked out dorm room. All the lights off and all the blinds drawn, the only light coming from her laptop. They were piled together in a nest of all the pillows and blankets from both her and Chi Chi's beds.

"OH COME ON!" Vegeta and Bulma shouted in unison, their eyes glued to the small screen propped up on a chair in front of the bed.

"The killer is obviously in your basement!" she told the girl on screen. "Here's an idea, why don't you just leave your fucking house and call the police!?"

Vegeta's gaze slid over to Bulma and the way she shook her head at the character getting murdered on screen. His fingers twitched wanting to get a little closer, a little cozier. He went for the only move he could think of, faking a yawn, stretching out his arms and putting one around her shoulders.

Bulma turned to look at him the moment his arm landed around her shoulder, he suddenly worried she would protest the contact. "I just want you to know you are both smooth and original," she said while obviously holding back a laugh.

His lips flattened into a line, thankfully the darkness hid his reddened cheeks. As he began to pull his arm away, she caught him by the hand and pulled herself tighter in his embrace. Bulma turned towards him, moving closer until their noses nearly touched. "Oh stop it, you know I was just teasing!" she whispered and she gave him a genuine smile. "I like this a lot, me and you."

Vegeta pulled her to sit on his lap. "Me too," he replied, his palms rovering over her sides. Her hands slid from his chest around to the back of his neck, until her fingers were playing with the hairs at his nape. There was a second of silent eye contact as if both of them were attempting to memorize this moment before she leaned down and pressed her soft lips against his.

Their lips melded together and it occurred to Bulma that each kiss with Vegeta brought something new. This one wasn't as loaded as those in the past, instead it was light hearted, fun, and dare she say  _hot_. She couldn't help by smile against his lips, the idea that she could be the respite for the ever stressed and serious Vegeta Ouji made her heart flutter.

His tongue slid over the seam of her mouth in request, and her lips parted allowing him entrance. She could feel his growing desire pressed against her center and it spurred her on. Bulma grabbed at his shirt, until she gathered enough fabric to pull the offending garment off him. Her hands immediately began exploring that insane body of his. Hardened muscles wrapped in smooth tan skin, Vegeta's physique was absolutely sinful.

He gave her a similar treatment, pausing their kiss to pull off her top, revealing her red lacy bra. He couldn't help but put his face between her two soft mounds, placing reverent kisses on the exposed skin before he made his way up her neck. Bulma moaned at the feeling of his lips tracing up her body as warm hands held her close. The skin on skin contact felt heavenly yet Bulma still itched to get closer, so she began rocking against him.

Just the  _idea_  of Bulma straddling him was enough for him to pop a boner, but the reality coupled with her grinding her hips down in his lap as they made out was a million times better. Vegeta groaned as her nails scratched his scalp and she pulled him deeper into their kiss. Gods he was painfully hard.

His hand slid up to her shoulder blades and she yelped in surprise when Vegeta flipped them, laying her down on her back as he hovered over her. The faint light from her computer barely illuminated his features and Bulma was momentarily captivated by the sharp, handsome angles of Vegeta's face and the positively hungry look in his half lidded eyes.

She reached out to the side, shutting her laptop to silence the eerie music and terror filled screams of their long forgotten movie. Suddenly the room was completely dark, the only sound was their labored breaths.

Vegeta settled on Bulma's side, propped up by his elbow. The fingers of his free hand skated over the soft skin of her inner thigh. "Are you sure you want to do that? Who knows what I'll do to you in the dark," he husked, his voice low and teasing.

"I trust you," she replied breathlessly before pulling him into another kiss. His hand glided across her bare stomach, landing on her hip with a squeeze. Their tongues found each other quicker this time, moving together in a rhythmic dance that had Bulma aching with need.

Her heart beat faster with nervous anticipation when Vegeta untied the drawstring of her tiny shorts. His lips pulled away from hers as his hand paused at her waistband, a silent request. She nodded, encouraging him to continue, then realized he might not even be able to see her. "Please," she whispered, her voice coming out a touch more desperate than she would've liked.

Even in the darkness she could feel he was smirking as his hand slipped into the front of her shorts. Her breath hitched and her hand instinctively grabbed at the sheets when a single thick finger slid between her feminine folds.

" _Fuck_ ," he mumbled, and she guessed that was Vegeta's only thought regarding how desperately wet she was for him. Bulma could hear his rapid heartbeat, the one thing that indicated maybe he was as nervous and excited as she was. He began stroking her center experimentally, and her body trembled as his finger became coated with her silky essence.

A moan escaped her lips as his finger slipped inside her. Her legs spread wider of their own volition as if begging for more of his touch.

Even in the darkness, Vegeta noticed the way her body stiffened when he touched that little pearl at the apex of her sex. She released a shaky breath through parted lips as her hand reached out to grab his shoulder in a desperate attempt to stay grounded. A tight, tingly feeling coiled in her low belly as he teased her clit with steady circles.

"You like that?" he purred and Bulma wanted to punch him the face for how smug he sounded. She opened her mouth, intending to slap him with a sarcastic quip, but a soft whimper came out instead.

Kami damn him. She liked it  _too much_. And she liked him  _way too much_.

"Don't stop," she cried as the tension in her core intensified. She felt his chest rumble with a chuckle at her body's wanton reactions to his touch. So Bulma bit her lip, trying to save herself from any more embarrassingly needy noises. Her nails dug into Vegeta's shoulder as he worked her mercilessly, edging her closer to her peak.

"Ahh, ahh," Bulma moaned breathlessly with her eyes clenched shut. Her thighs clamped together around his hand as waves of pleasure radiated from her center in a satisfying climax. With a sigh Bulma relaxed, melting into the mattress. She wore a contented smile as her body hummed pleasantly.

Vegeta leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her temple and suddenly, her chest tightened at how something so simple felt so intimate. Bulma had never had someone who she could be so physically and emotionally vulnerable with. What they shared was special and she knew in her heart Vegeta felt the same.

"You're welcome," his cocky voice cut through the quiet, and Bulma punched him playfully in the chest.

"We were having a moment and you ruined it!" she laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait to hear what you guys thought of this chapter!  
> prom is up next! what do you think will happen?! 🙈


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

"Do I look okay?" Goku asked as he readjusted his tie for the nth time.

Vegeta who was walking beside him, didn't even bother to glance his way. "You're very pretty, Kakarot," he replied sarcastically. "I don't know what you're so nervous about. Chi Chi is already your girlfriend." Vegeta subtly ran his fingers through his hair pretending he wasn't as anxious as Goku appeared to be.

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you thinking about asking Bulma to be your girlfriend tonight?!" Goku asked wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I don't know," Vegeta muttered, averting his gaze. "Maybe."

"Don't worry, she'll say yes," Goku smiled and bumped his shoulder into his friend as they continued making their way through campus to meet up with their dates.

"I wasn't worried," he scoffed quietly and Goku just snickered. Vegeta looked down at his phone, triple checking that they were still on time.

His breath hitched when he spotted that unmistakable lavender hair across the way. Bulma and Chi Chi were standing at the top of the steps outside the front entrance of their dorm. As if she could sense his gaze on her, she turned around and graced him with a dazzling smile. It was like the world was playing in slow motion as she descended the steps and he drank in her appearance.

Bulma wore a deep blue dress that hugged her curves before flaring out at the knee, like a mermaid's tail. The silky fabric subtly reflected light like the ocean at midnight. Her lilac hair hung in loose waves over her uncovered shoulders.

A stupid, goofy, absolutely regrettable grin broke out on his face when she waved at him. "Hey boys!" Bulma greeted with a wink. Her blue eyes stood out even more than usual with her dramatic makeup.

Chi Chi was wearing a pale pink mid length dress. Its top tied behind her neck in a sweet little bow and the waist flared out with several layers of tulle. She wore her hair in her signature bun, but added some little flower embellishments to dress up her look. Bulma had told her she looked adorable, like a 'fairy ballerina'.

When the boys approached the bottom of the steps, Goku stumbled and grabbed the left side of his chest with a pained expression. Vegeta caught his best friend by the bicep, his brow furrowed in concern and the girls stared at them with wide eyed worry. Chi Chi's dainty hands rose to cover her parted lips.

"Ahh," Goku choked. "Chi Chi…" He clutched his chest harder. "You're so beautiful my heart can't take it!" The raven haired girl's lips pulled into a smile as her cheeks flushed with flattered embarrassment.

Vegeta's face fell the moment he realized it was just a charade and shoved Goku away with a scoff. His eyes darted to Bulma who giggled at the scene before her, her blue eyes bright with amusement.

Goku laughed and strolled up to Chi Chi, pulling her close to greet her with a kiss. Bulma turned to look at Vegeta when his warm hand found purchase on her hip. She turned into him, grabbing him by his midnight blue tie, that matched her dress perfectly. "Mmm, you look good enough to eat," she purred.

"I think that's my line," he said with a smirk. He pulled a clear box out from behind his back, inside a corsage made with white roses and silver ribbons. Her face lit up with excitement, and he shook his head with a snicker. Bulma was acting like this was some sweet surprise when in reality he just followed the very specific directions she gave him on what to order and from where.

Vegeta slipped the corsage over her wrist and when he looked up she was smiling brightly at him. He refused to acknowledge the way his heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. After a moment, Bulma turned away, grabbing her own box with the matching boutonniere. She pinned in to the lapel of his black suit jacket before smoothing out any wrinkles.

They started making their way to the dance, walking hand in hand while trailing behind Goku and Chi Chi and their sickeningly sweet displays of affection. "Ugh, they're the worst," Vegeta muttered.

"I think they're adorable," Bulma smiled, thinking back to the timid Chi Chi she had first met, who secretly wished for a boy's affection. She couldn't of found a better catch. Goku was practically perfect and the pair complemented each other so well.

The foursome entered the school's gymnasium that had been decorated to the nines by the student council that morning. A private boarding school like theirs had an insane budget, and it showed.

"You would not believe how much work it takes to build a fucking balloon arch," Vegeta whispered to Bulma as her eyes took in all the decor. With the dim lighting and the stage upfront, you could hardly tell this room usually hosted a basketball court.

Bulma lit up when the cover band on stage started to play one of her favorite songs. "Let's dance!" she called to her group and the two couples navigated through the throngs of people to the dancefloor. Bulma was having a great time, an immovable smile was painted on her lips as they danced and socialized with their classmates. Each song that would pass Vegeta grew more comfortable on the dance floor, but it was nothing compared to the (possibly misplaced) overconfidence of Goku.

When a throwback hip hop song was played, everyone had a real kick watching Goku try to break dance. His moves gathered a small crowd and everyone was laughing. Well all except Vegeta, who just shook his head and called his best friend a 'clown'. But even he couldn't deny his small smile at the humorous display.

The song concluded and Goku threw his arm around Chi Chi before excusing themselves to the snack table. Bulma and Vegeta continued to dance until Raditz approached with two cups in hand. "Hey you guys wants some  _punch_?" he asked with a mischievous wiggle of his eyebrows, insinuating it was definitely not just punch.

Bulma happily took the cup without hesitation. "What's in it?" she laughed, missing the way Vegeta stiffened and glanced around the room.

Raditz leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "tequila." Bulma smirked and took a hearty swig.

"Woo!" she said with a wrinkled brow, "that's pretty strong." Bulma then turned to Vegeta, who still hadn't spoken during this exchange and offered him her cup. "Want some?"

He hesitated, opened his mouth then closed it again. Dark eyes traced the perimeter of the room one more time, he didn't see his dad anywhere, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get caught.

"Or not?" Bulma laughed and took another sip. A pang of embarrassment struck him in the chest. Was she making fun of him? It wasn't until that moment, Vegeta realized how much her opinion had begun to matter to him.

He took the cup from her hand and chugged the remaining contents. Bulma and Raditz looked at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Go get us some more would ya?" Vegeta said as he handed the cup back to Raditz.

"Sure thing, cap'n," Raditz said with a snicker.

When Vegeta turned to Bulma she was looking at him with an incredulous eyebrow raised. "What? This a party isn't?" he asked, his tone nearing defensive.

Bulma laughed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the center of the dance floor, "Hell yeah, it is!"

Several songs and drinks later, Bulma was really feeling the alcohol's effects and she had only been sipping. Vegeta on the other hand was throwing them back like he had something to prove. He seemed fine for the most part, but his face was flushed and he pawed at her messily.

A slow song had them pressed together, his hands rested on her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They swayed contentedly to the rhythm of the music.

"Hey bud, you need to sober up," she whispered in his ear.

"Why?" he hummed into her hair.

"Well," she sighed as her fingers began skating over his shoulder and chest. "I need you to be coherent for the after party I have planned. I'm thinking: me and you, your dorm, and what I'm wearing under this dress," she whispered seductively before playfully biting his earlobe. "Or not wearing."

His grip on her waist slid to the small of her back as he pulled her closer. "Mmm I like the sound of that," he purred and started placing wet kisses on her neck.

Bulma giggled and pushed him away softly. "Tsk tsk, a little impatient, are we?" she teased. The handsome, devious smirk that tugged at his lips had Bulma feeling a little impatient herself. They'd been hooking up every day leading up to prom, and though their relationship was fairly new, Bulma had been thinking tonight they may take it to the  _next level_.

When the song ended the MC hopped onstage and enthusiastically greeted all the students. "And now it's time to reveal this year's prom royalty!" Everyone ceased their chatter to give their full attention to the announcer. Prom royalty was essentially just a popularity contest, but man, did every girl in the room wish she was chosen.

"And your junior prom prince, as voted by you students is…" The room was virtually silent save the drum roll, as the MC opened the envelope with the tallied votes.

"It's me," Vegeta whispered into Bulma's ear.

"You really are one arrogant son of a bitch, you know tha—"

"VEGETA OUJI!"

"I hate you," Bulma laughed. The crowd applauded as he grinned at Bulma who shook her head in disbelief. She released him from her embrace and he stumbled slightly as he made his way up to the stage. Bulma had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing. Oh Kami, please don't let him fall off this fucking stage.

The MC helped Vegeta put on a royal blue sash that read 'Prom Prince' in sparkling gold letters followed by a little golden crown. Vegeta faced the crowd and everyone cheered again. A group of boys (no doubt the lacrosse team) began shouting "Ouji! Ouji!" He gave them a peace sign in return, and Bulma chuckled.

"Alright! Alright! Settle down!" The MC said, "And now your junior prom princess is..."

Bulma could feel all the junior girls collectively hold their breath.

"MARRON MUSABETSU!"

The blue haired beauty and all her friends squealed with glee. They urged her toward the stage and Bulma choked back a laugh at the fact that Marron was on the verge of tears, as if something like this was important at all.

As the MC fixed Marron with her crown and sash, a thought struck Bulma. Had she not left her old school, would that have been her and her friends? Back then she had been so overly invested in her status and proving her popularity. How strange it was to realize how much she had changed in just these few short months. Bulma was hesitant to think maybe her dad actually did know what was best for her.

The crowd broke into applause again. Vegeta went to leave the stage when Marron hooked her arm with his, forcing him to stay. She snatched the microphone from the MC and began her impassioned acceptance speech.

"You don't need to give a speech," the MC muttered, trying to urge the pair off stage. Marron ignored him and continued while keeping Vegeta as her hostage.

"We are both just so humbled to be chosen by you, the student body!" Marron concluded with a beauty queen smile and her friends all applauded enthusiastically. She passed the mic to Vegeta and he stared at it a moment, then looked into the crowd before he turned to Marron, who blinked at him expectantly.

He brought the microphone to his lips, "Uhh, let'ss go Orange Sstar."

Bulma face palmed humorously at the way his 'S's' dragged with drunkenness. Vegeta passed the mic back to the MC, who seemed relieved that he didn't have an elaborate speech of his own planned.

Vegeta dragged Marron offstage as the MC began announcing the senior king and queen. He weaved through the crowd and found an amused Bulma waiting for him. He struck his most regal pose, "Bow down! I am Vegeta, Prince of all Oranges and Stars!"

The lavender haired girl giggled as she gave him an exaggerated curtsy. "Wow, your majesty that was quite an eloquent speech you gave up there," Bulma teased.

"Shut the fuck up," Vegeta laughed. "What was I even supposed to say?!" He grabbed her hips and pulled her close, her hands finding purchase on his chest. They smiled brightly at each other, he suddenly was glad he decided to come to prom and that he got to share this night with Bulma.

He grew confused when her smile fell, until he felt a firm and familiar grip on his shoulder. Vegeta turned to find his father with a serious expression on his face.

"We need to talk."

"Um.. uhh… can't this wait?" Vegeta asked.

"If you would please excuse us Miss Briefs," Headmaster Ouji said to Bulma, before grabbing Vegeta by the arm and harshly pulling him a few feet away. She kept her distance and watched with bated breath, knowing this wouldn't end well.

"Have you been drinking?" his father asked, straight to the point. Vegeta swallowed nervously and opened his mouth to reply, but he hesitated. "Don't you dare, think of lying to me," his father added sternly. His dark eyes narrowed.

Vegeta wondered why his father even bothered to ask, he clearly already knew the answer. What was really the point of making him admit it? "Yes," he mumbled, knowing there was no point in trying to defend his actions.

"Is it too much to ask that you  _think_ even a little before acting!?" Headmaster Ouji cried at a volume that made Vegeta cringe. Though many students were still distracted by the music and the dancing his father's yelling was starting to attract an audience. Vegeta shook his head passively, he knew from the beginning the drinking was a bad idea. And yet he did it anyway.

"You are a minor drinking  _illegally_  on school grounds, at a school function no less! You are my son, do you understand how this looks for me! Are you trying to embarrass me?!" his father ranted, calling him a disgrace and his actions a poor reflection on the Ouji family values.

Though Vegeta knew plenty of people were staring, there was only one pair of blue eyes in particular that he cared about. He spared a glance in Bulma's direction and felt a sharp pain in his chest. Her expression was a mix of sad horror, as if she was watching an animal being slaughtered. Gods, he had never felt more pathetic in his life.

"You will look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Headmaster Ouji bellowed. Vegeta's plastic crown fell from his head and clattered against the floor as his father's palm made contact with his face.

The harsh slap echoed through the gymnasium followed by a chorus of gasps.

If he thought they were staring before, now his father really had their attention. Vegeta could feel their judgement, their pity that he didn't want. It stung more than the pain in his pinkening cheek. He stared into his father's dark eyes, he seemed unbothered by the spectacle he had made of them.

"May I be dismissed?" Vegeta muttered, struggling to keep his composure.

"Yes, it's probably best if you retire for the night. But don't think we're done talking about this," his father said. Without hesitation, Vegeta pushed past the crowds and left the dance without looking back. He shoved open the door and escaped into the cool night air.

He stormed back to his room with haste, the bumping music of the dance faded into a dull hum the further he got. Then he heard a repeated clacking against the pavement behind him. "Vegeta, slow down! I can't run in these shoes!" Bulma called from a distance.

"Vegeta, please!" she tried again when he didn't stop. "I don't want you to be alone." He was silent but Bulma continued to follow him back to his dorm. She thought maybe she was bothering him and he didn't want to see her, but when he entered his room, he left the door wide open for her.

She sighed as she entered closed the door behind her. "Vegeta," she said solemnly, still working to catch her breath after chasing him down. His back was to her, giving no indication that he was listening but she continued anyway, "I'm sorry that happened."

He quickly turned around and in a few strides was directly in front of her, capturing her in his embrace. Bulma wrapped her arms around his shoulders in an attempt to soothe him. His face nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

"Vegeta," she giggled as his lips tickled her neck with kisses. "We should talk about this."

"I don't want to talk," he mumbled against her skin, as his lips made their way up to her ear. His hands caressed her hips through the silk of her dress.

"Stop," she nearly moaned as kisses reached her jaw. She pushed him away from her neck so she could focus and actually look into his eyes. "I want to help you," Bulma said sympathetically, but Vegeta just looked annoyed.

"If you want to help me, then take off your dress."

Bulma fully shoved him away with a scoff, "Are you seriously going to pretend that that didn't just happen?"

"What do you want me to fucking say, Bulma?!" Vegeta shouted, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"Has he ever hit you before?" she whispered sadly. Her brow furrowed and eyes brimming with concern.

"Oh my gods!" he huffed, even having the audacity to roll his eyes at her. "This is not a big deal, so can you please just stop! I'm not like you, I don't feel the need to overanalyze everything!" Bulma scowled, she couldn't believe her care for him was getting her screamed at and insulted.

"That's not what I'm doing!" Bulma yelled back at him, irked by his dismissal of her serious question. "I just…" she began, but her voice softened again, "I want you to know that you don't need his recognition or approval or whatever is that you're after." She touched his shoulder in a gesture of understanding, looking into his eyes with all the compassion she could muster, despite him being so infuriating. "It's virtually unattainable anyway."

"Are you kidding me?!" he all but screamed. Vegeta shrugged off her hand, before pointing a harsh, accusatory finger at her. "You are such a hypocrite! You're  _constantly_  seeking validation from your own father, so who are  _you_  to tell me to let go!"

"That's not fair! I -"

But before Bulma could finish her defense, Vegeta interjected, "At least I'm not throwing bratty little fits and getting expelled from school! My dad may be an incredible fucking asshole, but at least I know he wants me!"

The air left her lungs, his words a sucker punch to the gut.

She had known him to be cruel, but she still gave him the ammunition to truly hurt her. Bulma had no words, no reply. Her eyes began to tear up, as she repeated in her head that he didn't mean it, he was just deflecting from his own pain. They stared at each other with hard eyes for several silent moments.

"Oh good, it looks like you're done talking, so why don't you just  _get out_ ," Vegeta spat.

Bulma exhaled a harsh breath out her nose as she gave him a hard glare. Then without a word, she turned around and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

He didn't want to talk about what happened or about his feelings. He said what it took to get her to shut up and go away, but it was only a moment after she was gone that Vegeta regretted what he had said. He ran toward the door with every intention of chasing after her, he could tell her he hadn't meant it, but then he softly released the doorknob.

It slowly, painfully dawned on him that whatever this thing was that he had with Bulma had just imploded. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could say to undo the way he had just treated her.

Vegeta grit his teeth and clenched his fists, his emotions bubbling over into a fit of rage. He began throwing everything he could get his hands on and screaming until his face turned red. His eyes prickled with tears, as he was overwhelmed by the onslaught of sad, mad, embarrassed, and frustrated feelings.

"This night was a complete and total fucking disaster," Vegeta yelled as he threw a heavy punch at his wall. The regret was instant.

"Fuck!" he cried as he cradled his now battered hand. Trembling, he leaned against the smooth door of his dorm. Now he was mad  _and_  he was hurt. Vegeta knocked his head back against the door in frustration before sliding down to sit. Tears rolled down his cheeks as his furiously beating heart began to settle down after the tantrum he just threw.

Punching a fucking brick wall was a seriously stupid move, but then again he'd been acting stupid since the day Bulma Briefs stepped foot on the Orange Star campus.

He didn't even care about prom, but he just  _had_  to go because of her. Then there was the drinking. He wouldn't have done it if he wasn't so worried about what she thought of him. And worst, his concern for what she might be feeling was what compelled him to look at her while he was being lectured. It was basically all  _her fault_  his father slapped him!

Whether or not she was actually attempting to distract him like his father suggested, Bulma was definitely the root of all his problems and he hated her for it. He hated how she was so effortlessly smart. He hated her stupid purple hair and the way she got under his skin. But mostly he hated the way he didn't hate her.

Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! I can't wait to hear what you guys think!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of love for my amazing beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Chi Chi quietly unlocked the door of her dorm in the early hours of the morning. With her high heels in hand and a smile plastered on her face, she padded softly inside. When she noticed a light in the bedroom was still on, the raven haired girl realized her roommate must not be asleep.

"Bulma? You still awake?" she called to the burrito of blankets in her roommate's bed. "I'm sorry we left the dance so early, but I have something exciting I want to tell you!" Bulma rolled over revealing her wet, red rimmed eyes.

Chi Chi immediately dropped her shoes, and rushed over as Bulma sat up in her bed. "Oh honey, what's wrong?" she asked, as her hand smoothed over Bulma's hair.

The lavender haired girl opened her mouth to speak but a new wave of tears pooled in her blue eyes. She hadn't taken her makeup off before she fell into bed to wallow, so her smudged mascara made her appear to be the saddest little raccoon Chi Chi ever did see.

"We're over," Bulma whimpered, before leaning into her roommate's embrace.

Chi Chi wrapped her arms around Bulma. This just didn't make any sense, when she left with Goku, Bulma had been beaming. She and Vegeta were even more on top of each other than usual (and that was saying something). Goku had even mentioned Vegeta was going to ask Bulma to be his girlfriend that night. Chi Chi couldn't imagine how things had gone so horribly wrong.

"What happened?" Chi Chi asked, rubbing Bulma's back in soothing circles.

"He's so mean," was all she could manage before her tears started falling again. Chi Chi held her for several long moments, just allowing her to let it all out.

"Hey, why don't you get cleaned up and go to sleep. Then we can talk more in the morning, if you're ready." Bulma nodded softly before she got up to go over to the bathroom. The raven haired girl watched her with sympathetic eyes as Bulma closed the door behind her. Chi Chi had never seen her roommate so distraught.

Bulma sighed as she peered at herself in the mirror. She looked as pathetic as she felt. The dramatic makeup she had spent nearly an hour perfecting earlier that evening was a now a dark mess around her eyes. She washed off her makeup and splashed warm, calming water on her face.

' _Chi was right_ ,' she thought as she patted her face dry, cleaning up was having a positive effect on her current emotional state. She looked at her reflection again, now fresh faced and clean, but still found herself asking, ' _who is this girl?_ '

The Bulma Briefs she knew - the Bulma Briefs she wanted to be - absolutely  _did not_  cry like this over some stupid boy. No fucking way. She was smart, beautiful, and capable. She deserved the best because she was the best, and if Vegeta couldn't recognize that, then his loss!

He intended to hurt her with his words, calling her unwanted,  _unlovable_. She couldn't forgive him, so instead she decided to show him what Bulma Briefs truly was.

_A stone, cold bitch._

* * *

"Bulma," Vegeta called, hoping to get her attention, as he stood next to her desk. But she ignored him continuing to stare straight ahead. She noticed in her peripherals that he was fidgeting, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves nervously. The knuckles on his right hand were taped up. She was curious, but she'd never ask.

"Bulma, please," he practically begged. Vegeta's voice came out softer, maybe a touch raspier than usual. She shifted in her seat, and turned her head to look at him. Blue eyes clashed with black.

"I'm so sor-"

"Save it," she interrupted. Her tone was flat, her face impassive.

"What?"

"Save your breath," she said slowly this time, as if he was stupid. "I'm not interested in whatever apology you've prepared. So how about you don't waste either of our time and just sit down and stop talking." Bulma turned back to face the front of the classroom, effectively dismissing him.

His eyes grew wide with disbelief, before shifting into anger. "Are you being serious right now?"

She continued staring straight ahead as if he wasn't even standing there. "You're really just going to ignore me?!" he asked, affronted.

The bell rang and Bulma still refused to respond, so Vegeta threw himself down into his chair at the desk behind her, grumbling and fussing with his belongings. "You're so fucking petty," he muttered. Bulma grit her teeth at the insult, but wouldn't take the bait.

When class ended Vegeta hastily stomped out of the room, his anger and offense at her dismissal still apparent. Bulma rolled her eyes as she watched him go. Did he really expect her to just roll over and accept some delayed (half-assed) apology. If he cared, he would have sought her out sooner, yesterday or before school this morning, instead he just waited until class.

Actually, if he  _really_  cared, he wouldn't have said those things in the first place.

Bulma navigated the halls still stewing over Vegeta's name calling after she refused his apology. He was so stupid, always making things worse. She was so much better off without him.

"Have you ever thought about student government!?" a perky redhead greeted, shoving a flyer into Bulma's face. Startled out of her musings, Bulma stopped. The girl must have interpreted this as interest, because she launched into her speech about all the fun and perks those in student council have.

"Do you think you'd like to join?!" the redhead concluded, her enthusiasm never waning. "There aren't any prerequisites, so even if you're new you could run for anything you'd like!" She handed Bulma a sign up clipboard before she even had the chance to respond.

"You'd likely be running against one to three other people, but don't let that intimidate you! Pretty much every position is up for grabs in the senior class, well I mean except for maybe president," the girl laughed at some untold joke Bulma didn't understand. "Right now, Vegeta Ouji is running unopposed but that's because everyone knows he'll win."

An evil smirk crossed her lips as Bulma signed up to run for senior class president. If he wanted to call her petty, she'd show him petty.

* * *

Vegeta was seething, the day's frustration (mainly centered around a particular lavender haired girl) was compounding by the minute. After she blatantly refused to talk to him this morning, he was mad. But after he received a text that she was running against him for class president, he was furious.

"Why are you sitting here?" Vegeta growled as he stared down at Bulma. "This is my table, and you made it clear this morning that you weren't going to talk to me anymore."

"Oh Vegeta," Bulma sighed, an air of condescension in her voice. "I never said I wouldn't talk to you anymore, I just said I didn't want to hear your pathetic apology. Plus, this isn't  _your_  table, I'm friends with plenty of people sitting here."

Vegeta glared at all his friends sitting around them, silently demanding one of them to back him up, but they all averted their gaze, not wanting to get involved. "Ugh, fine," he scoffed, throwing his tray on the table and taking the seat across from a smug Bulma. "If we're still talking, then why don't you tell me what inspired you to run for  _my_  position in student council!?"

Bulma reached over and picked up an apple off of Vegeta's tray. " _MY_  table,  _MY_  position," she mocked, before taking a bite. She paused, looking at the apple with distaste, and set it back on his tray. "Your narcissism knows no bounds."

Vegeta could feel his eye twitch as his gaze darted from the apple to Bulma. "Who do you think you are?!" he roared.

Bulma tilted her head, a devious little smile painted on her lips. "A better question is why are you here?" Vegeta scrunched his face in apparent confusion.

"Everyone saw you get caught drinking at prom by the headmaster of this school, so why didn't you get  _suspended_?" she elaborated.

"Oh shit," someone at the table muttered.

Vegeta's mouth gaped open, her insolence stunning him into silence. Bulma pressed a finger to her lips feigning thoughtfulness, "Oh that's right! Daddy would never punish you on the record and hurt your chances of ivy league glory, now would he? Tell me, Vegeta, have you ever dealt with an actual consequence in your entire life?"

His lips were pressed into a hard line and he was visibly trembling from containing his rage or another emotion, she wasn't sure. But she couldn't stop, it wasn't enough to hurt him back, she had to hurt him  _worse_.

"I don't even know why you're so mad about me running against you for class president, I mean everyone knows your dad will just rig the election for you to win anyway," Bulma shrugged. "Whatever Vegeta wants, Vegeta gets. Isn't that right?"

Vegeta clenched his fists under the table. He could not believe she went there! The mere suggestion his dad would rig the election, will surely delegitimize his eventual victory. But then again, he was sure that was her intention. He went to speak, to defend himself, but she spoke over him.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's the same reason you're lacrosse captain. I mean everyone knows Goku is the best player. He's the one already getting recruited by -"

"That's enough!" Goku shouted as he stood from his seat, all eyes gravitating to him. "What is your problem today?!"

Bulma huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. Of course Vegeta hadn't told Goku what an asshole he had been to her at prom. He probably expected his stupid apology this morning to take care of everything.

When she turned back to Vegeta, he had gotten up and stormed away from the table, abandoning his barely touched lunch without a word. For her to undermine all the hard work he put into his activities, by saying everything was just handed to him, must have been too far.

"Damn, Bulma, that was savage," someone said.

"What did he do to her?" whispered another.

She didn't pay any mind to the quiet side conversations going on at the table, she was preoccupied with watching Vegeta flee. She caught eyes with Goku again, who gave her a look of obvious disappointment, before he followed after his best friend. The sudden feeling of guilt weighed heavy in her gut.

Wasn't revenge supposed to be sweeter than this?

* * *

Vegeta sat in his usual chair across from his father's desk. His elbow sat on the armrest with his hand supporting his head. His father was talking about something, but he wasn't paying attention. All his thoughts were consumed by what Bulma had said at lunch.

Was that really what she thought of him? That he was some entitled, privileged daddy's boy.

He was always so stressed and worked hard towards his goals. At least that's how he had always viewed himself. He had advantages, sure, but did that mean his struggle was any less difficult?

A sudden fear crept into the back of his mind. Maybe he had it easy, maybe everything had always been set up for him to succeed. Was his stress all self induced? Did it just seem hard because he was…  _weak_?

"You wouldn't rig the election for me to win, would you?" Vegeta blurted, interrupting whatever it was his dad was lecturing him about.

"What?" Headmaster Ouji asked, seemingly caught off guard by such a question. "I have no interest in coddling you, Vegeta. If you lose to the Briefs girl, that is your own fault."

Somehow that was comforting.

"I really think you should have predicted she would do something like this," he continued. "I told you that she's out to be the best, top of the class and all that. It should come as no surprise, she would step on you to get there."

Vegeta winced. Before, he would have never believed Bulma could be so conniving. He was sure she was running for class president just to spite him and after the way she so ruthlessly put him on blast in front of all his friends, he questioned if he even really knew her.

It was scary to think Bulma wasn't actually the person he had grown to have feelings for. The only thing scarier was that maybe his dad had been right this whole time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so so much for all the love and support on the fic! I'm so tickled that it has officially surpassed [Camp Four Star](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15790668/chapters/36744750) as my most popular story! ❤️I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine), my wonderful beta!!

"Aye, Goku!" Bulma called with a wave as she approached him at his locker.

Goku turned to face her, crossing his arms over his broad chest and wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression. "Are you ready to tell me what that whole thing was about?"

Bulma fought the urge to roll her eyes. Since that day at lunch, Goku had been pestering her for the details of her and Vegeta's fallout and how their relationship had morphed into something so toxic. "No," she stated firmly. "I'm here to talk about your exam, not Vegeta. If you want to know so bad, why don't you just ask  _him_?"

Goku threw his hands down to his sides with a pout. "I've tried! He won't tell me, he just refuses to talk about his feelings!"

"Well that should be your first clue!" Bulma exclaimed. "He's literally so -," she swallowed an angry rant and frowned at her friend. "Quit trying to trick me into talking about him!"

"You seem like you have a lot to say, I could listen!"

"Stop! I don't want to! Ugh!" Bulma paused, took a deep breath to center herself, and redirected the conversation. "Your college entrance exam is tomorrow. How are feeling? Good?"

Goku deflated slightly, disappointed that he didn't have a breakthrough on this VegeBul breakup mystery. "Yeah, I guess," he said with a sigh. "I mean we followed your plan and I've been doing well on my practice tests. Do you think I'm ready?"

"I do," she smiled. "You're going to be great and you're going to get into West City U."

"I'm going to get into West City U," he repeated, as if reciting his dream was enough to manifest it.

Bulma patted him on the arm and looked up into his eyes. "Don't forget to get a good night's sleep, have a filling breakfast in the morning, and if you are having a hard time with a question -"

"Skip it and come back later," Goku finished.

Bulma jumped up to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug, "you got this," she muttered.

' _Kami, I hope so_ ,' Goku thought as he returned her embrace.

* * *

The days continued to roll by and Vegeta and Bulma remained at a stalemate. The most interaction they had was catching each other in a mean glare. No words, never an apology, and both refusing to break first.

Bulma felt guilty about the way she had treated him, but that didn't stop her from putting all her campaign posters right next to his, if not slightly over just to annoy him. After she publicly beat him down at lunch, Bulma had many a conversation with herself about how she shouldn't feel bad or care about his feelings. ' _He deserved it_ ' and ' _he started it_ ' were common mantras in her mind, but they didn't seem to alleviate any of the lingering pain.

They were, however, a fair distraction from how much she missed him and that was something.

When she had her fallout with Yamcha, Bulma had been hurt. But more than Yamcha, himself, she mourned what he had represented and what she thought he had the potential to be: someone who paid attention to her and made her feel seen. That's what she had always longed for.

It was odd, she found those things in Vegeta without even looking for them. Their baggage with their fathers paralleled each other's in a way that gave them a unique understanding of each other. They challenged each other, laughed with each other, and they had a physical chemistry Bulma had never experienced before. But then she went ruined it...

No! It wasn't her fault everything went to shit!

_He started it!_

* * *

Chi Chi steeled herself with a deep breath and turned to look at her roommate. Bulma was laying on her stomach on her bed, texting, tweeting or whatever it was that she was always doing on her phone. This concern had been plaguing Chi Chi for a few days, but every time she tried to subtly bring it up to Bulma, the conversation somehow always became about how Vegeta was such a jerk and he 'got what was coming to him'.

She couldn't afford subtly anymore, she had to just come out and say it. The raven haired girl wrung her hands in her lap, her nerves threatening to silence her. She knew once she said it out loud, once she told someone, it would be real.

"Bulma?" Chi Chi mumbled.

"Mmhmm," Bulma hummed her acknowledgement but didn't look up from the small screen in front of her.

"I…" she swallowed. Okay. She's going to say it. She's really going to do it. "My period is late."

"Ehh, well are you like super stressed or something? That can affect it."

"I mean I'm stressed, but like… I'm always stressed." Chi Chi sighed, "And I'm finding  _this_  particularly stress inducing because my period is very regular."

"Chill, Chi. There's literally a million of reasons why your period could be late," Bulma shrugged. "I wouldn't really worry about it, it's not like your having sex."

Chi Chi cleared her throat as her gaze fell to the floor. Bulma whipped her head to the side, staring at her roommate with wide eyes.

"When?"

"Prom night," Chi Chi muttered, still unable to meet her friend's gaze.

"That was three weeks ago! Why - Why didn't you tell me back then?" Bulma was a little hurt. She thought she and Chi Chi shared everything.

Chi Chi looked up finding sad blue eyes locked on her. "I tried, but you seemed a little…" she paused, biting her lip nervously, "busy at the time. All that drama with… Vegeta." She was hesitant to even say his name, knowing her roommate was still sensitive about the subject.

"Oh," was all Bulma could manage, suddenly feeling ashamed at her initial reaction. She sat up on the edge of her bed. "Well, that still doesn't mean what I think you're implying. You guys used, ya know, protection, right?"

Brown eyes darted back down to the floor and Bulma shot up to standing. "Chi Chi!" she screamed.

"Ok, fuck." The lavender haired girl began pacing, "we're in ' _this is actually a fucking possibility_ ' territory. How could you… ugh! Chi! I thought you were more responsible than this!" Bulma stopped her tirade when she heard a soft sniffle and turned to find her roommate with big tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know what I'm going to do!" she whimpered, "I'm so scared." Bulma sat down next to her roommate and grabbed her hand with a comforting squeeze. Now was really not the time for a lecture, Chi Chi needed her understanding and support more than ever.

"What will Goku say? Oh my gods," Chi Chi choked on her sobs, "What will  _my parents_  say?!"

Bulma could tell she was spiraling. "Hey, hey!" she called, grabbing Chi Chi's face and forcing her to look her in the eyes. "We don't even know for sure if you are pregnant. Let's just take this one step at a time, okay?"

Chi Chi swallowed then nodded, silent tears still trailing down her cheeks.

"Fuck, alright, we have to go to the store and buy a test," Bulma said. "Once we get the results, we can figure it out from there."

The raven haired girl's eyes widened as she shook her head "I - I can't!" she cried, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I - I mean, like… It would just be so… I don't think I can!"

Bulma could tell Chi Chi was far too embarrassed, probably the same reason why she didn't buy any fucking condoms. "Okay," Bulma sighed, "I'll go get the test for you. You stay here and try not to freak the fuck out."

"Too late," Chi Chi muttered.

Bulma slipped on her shoes and quickly made her way to the nearest convenience store. At this point she really didn't want to leave Chi Chi alone with her thoughts for too long. The girl was seriously struggling. Then it occurred to her, her roommate had likely been battling these thoughts more and more each day that passed without her period. Bulma's heart ached for her friend.

She stood in front of the shelves lined with various pregnancy tests. A rather conspicuous 'Family Planning' sign hung over her. Damnit, did there really need to be so many brands? Which one was the best? Most accurate? Did it even really matter?

Bulma looked over her shoulder, making sure no one saw her throw half a dozen pregnancy tests in her basket. A variety of tests should give them more accurate results. That made sense, right?

She felt more high strung than ever as she made her way over to the refrigerated section. Every stranger that walked by, Bulma hastily pulled her basket out of view. Was she paranoid? Maybe, but she couldn't be too careful. She added a few bottles of Chi Chi's favorite sweet tea, she was going to have to make a lot of pee to take all these tests, after all.

The lavender haired girl made her way to the checkout, eyes scanning the store for anyone that might possibly know her. Gods, she was really a good friend for doing this for Chi Chi. When Bulma placed her items on the counter, the cashier gave her a judgemental look that she chose to ignore.

"Can you double bag that?" Bulma asked with a forced smile. The cashier's face reeked of disapproval but complied, placing her bag of items inside another bag as to make it less see-through.

"Hey Bulma," a classmate greeted as he walked into the store. Bulma tensed, grabbing her bag and ensuring it was closed as she pulled it tight to her body.

"Oh hey, what's up?" Bulma grinned nervously. He smirked when he saw her rather suspicious body language.

He leaned in close, eyeing her bag, before asking, "Whatcha got there?"

"Nothing," Bulma replied immediately, with a shake of her head.

"Yo, if you got a fake, do you think you could buy me some beer?" he whispered, before glancing at the preoccupied cashier. Bulma released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Sorry man, that's not what this," she laughed quietly.

"Lame," he sighed. Bulma scrambled out of the convenience store immediately after he walked away. She crossed campus holding the bag like it was some Kami damned contraband. She should have just brought a backpack to carry it in. Stupid!

Bulma entered their dorm and found Chi Chi wrapped in a blanket on her bed, eating spoonfuls of cookie dough. "I don't think a maybe pregnant person should be eating raw eggs like that," Bulma said without thinking.

Chi Chi's face fell as she dropped her spoon into the bowl with a loud clatter. "Wahhh," she wailed, fresh tears pooled in her brown eyes.

"Oh Kami! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that!" Bulma tried to backpedal. "Eat whatever you want!"

"No, you're right," Chi Chi cried. "And thank you for getting the test for me. I just… it was really nice of you." Bulma took some time to calm her roommate down before she pulled out her bag to review all the items.

"So you can pee on one stick or all the sticks, whatever you think you need," she concluded. Chi Chi finished off her tea with a big swig, grabbed one of the boxes, and made her way over to the bathroom.

The girls held hands as they laid on their backs in Bulma's bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence as they waited for the most agonizing fifteen minutes of Chi Chi's life. She nearly had a heart attack when the alarm went off. Her heartbeat accelerated and a nervous lump formed in her throat. It was the moment of truth.

"You ready?" Bulma asked softly.

"No," the raven haired girl replied, "but I don't think I'll ever be." Chi Chi got up from the bed, tread over to the bathroom and picked up one of the little white sticks with it's result that could change the course of her entire life.

_Pregnant_

Chi Chi collapsed onto the bathroom floor, her knees just gave out at the sheer weight of her reality. ' _This is actually happening_ ,' she thought as a fresh wave of tears streamed down her face. She was suddenly wrapped in the warmth of a hug as Bulma settled on the floor next to her.

"It's okay," Bulma whispered, squeezing her tighter. "It's going to be okay."

"There's a baby inside me, like an actual human baby!" Chi Chi hysterically stated the obvious as her roommate looked at the result with her own eyes. Sure enough, it was there in black and white. "I don't know if I can do this," she wept. Bulma backed up and combed away Chi Chi's bangs enough to look her in the eye.

"Hey, it's your body, you don't have to do this if you're not ready. Or at the very least, if you don't think you can raise a baby, there are plenty of families out there that would love to adopt that A+ bundle of genes you got cooking in there," Bulma smiled, "but Chi Chi, to be honest, you might just be the most maternal person I know. So if you decide you do want to keep this baby, I really think you would be a great mom."

Chi Chi nodded softly, biting her lip as more tears rolled down her face. Her friend's sweet words making her heart ache even more. She had always wanted to be a mom, but not yet! This wasn't the plan. She wasn't ready.

"I just… I don't...What should I do?" she begged, her brown eyes earnest. It was all too much, a decision like this was just too consequential. She didn't think she could bear the responsibility alone.

"I really can't tell you what to do in this situation," Bulma said before pulling her in for another hug. "Just know, whatever you choose, I'll stand behind you 100%."

Chi Chi closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath. "I want Goku to help me decide."

"I think that's a good idea."

"Now I just have to figure out how to tell him," Chi Chi sighed, wiping away another tear.

* * *

Bulma was at her locker when she felt a familiar dark gaze on her. "What?" she scoffed without bothering to look at him. "I'm not dropping out of the election."

"Who are you fucking?" Vegeta growled.

Well that got her attention.

She turned to face him, her face pulled into a scowl. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied honestly.

"Don't play dumb, everyone's talking about how you were seen buying," he lowered his voice to a harsh whisper, "a  _pregnancy_   _test_."

Fucking shit. She had thought she had been so careful too.

Bulma grit her teeth as she weighed her options. She couldn't say it wasn't hers, it wouldn't take a genius to deduce the only other person she would buy one for. Fuck! Even if she only told Vegeta, he could tell Goku before Chi Chi has a chance to. She needed him to go away and stop asking questions before the situation got even worse.

"It's really none of your business, Vegeta. We're not together," Bulma said coldly and slammed her locker closed. "In fact, we never were."

She made to walk away but he grabbed her firmly by the wrist. "Bulma…" She turned around to glare at him. His brow was still furrowed but his expression had softened into something akin to concern. "Are you okay?"

They stared at each other for a moment and Bulma's stomach was in knots. His worry digging up feelings Bulma was sure she had extinguished. She didn't want to feel like that about him. Not anymore.

"I'm not pregnant, if that's what you're asking," she spat as she ripped her arm from his grasp and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE reading your comments, so please tell me what you think!! ❤️
> 
>  
> 
> Also... Practice safe sex, people.
> 
> Or you will get pregnant. And die.
> 
>  
> 
> LOL I couldn't resist, I love [ 1VulgarWoman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/1VulgarWoman/pseuds/1VulgarWoman)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to my amazing beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

"So?" Bulma asked as she dropped her book bag and hopped up onto Chi Chi's bed. "How'd it go today?"

Chi Chi gave her roommate a nervous smile, running her fingers through her hair and attempting to avoid eye contact. "Well… he had this big history project due, so he was pretty stressed... I just felt like today wasn't the right time."

"Chi," Bulma frowned. "You've been making these same excuses all week. I thought you wanted to tell him, that way he could help you make a decision."

The raven haired girl sighed, that was true, she did still want his input. But by not telling Goku, it delayed the inevitable, life-altering decision she was too scared to face. Living in this in between of knowing the truth, but not quite acting upon it yet, seemed to be less anxiety inducing. At least that's what Chi Chi had convinced herself.

"The longer you wait to tell your baby daddy, isn't going to make the decision any easier, but it does run the risk of hurting his feelings."

Chi Chi cringed, "please don't call him that." She knew what Bulma said was true, and the last thing she wanted was to hurt Goku's feelings. But every time she imagined how he would react or what he might say, it was nauseating.

Chi Chi tried to prepare herself for the worst, but deep in her heart she knew Goku wasn't going to be the worst case scenario. He was good and decent, she was sure he wouldn't run away. But if the best case scenario was that he'd be ecstatic and cry tears of joy at the news that he was going to be a father, well, she knew that wasn't going to happen either.

Goku would fall somewhere in between, and unfortunately for Chi Chi's imagination, there was a lot of in between scenarios. They were teenagers, with no money, and other plans in mind. Gods, the last thing she wanted was for him to resent her for holding him back.

Chi Chi hadn't even realized she was crying until she felt Bulma wrap her in a hug. Damn these pregnancy hormones, her emotional fragility was starting to get annoying. Yesterday, she saw  _a picture_  of the tiniest little kitten and its sheer cuteness was enough to inspire tears. There wasn't any morning sickness or cravings yet, but she expected them to come in due time.

With a sigh, Chi Chi extracted herself from her friend's embrace to look into her eyes. "I'm going to tell him." Bulma nodded with a reassuring smile.

* * *

"So is Bulma Briefs knocked up or not? I keep hearing different things."

"Shit man, I don't know," his friend shrugged.

Goku noticed the way Vegeta's grip on his locker door tightened. He was obviously listening to the other boys' conversation as they all dressed in their normal uniforms after gym class. It wasn't the first time Goku had heard people talking about Bulma's possible pregnancy, but he'd been hesitant to ask his best friend about it. Vegeta had been avoiding all conversation about his feelings especially pertaining the lavender haired girl.

"Are you worried if she is… that it's  _yours_?" Goku whispered.

Vegeta ground his teeth, this subject was the hot gossip at school lately and every time someone brought up it set him on edge. "It's impossible. We never…" he trailed off.

"Oh!" Goku said, not trying to hide his surprise. "Well, I mean, on the bright side, you have no chance of being a teenage father. That would've sucked."

"Right," Vegeta said flatly, staring into his locker with barely contained rage.

Goku furrowed his brow for a moment as a thought struck him. "It's not like I know much about getting pregnant and the timing of all that. But if she is and it's not yours, then wouldn't she have had to fall into bed with someone like right after you guys broke up?"

"Brilliant deduction jackass," Vegeta spat sarcastically. "Now I'm sure you can see why this subject makes me so fucking angry." He slammed his gym locker closed and sat on the bench to slip on his shoes.

"Angry because she moved on so quickly or angry because you still love her?"

Vegeta stood and gave a dark glare to his best friend before he turned sharply to walk away. Goku shut his own locker and trailed after him. "Hey man, I'm sure it's just a rumor. People around here make up shit, 'cause they're just bored with their own lame lives."

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

Bulma was leaned up against the wall after school waiting for Chi Chi to come out of her classroom. During the last period of the school day, there was an announcement about the results of the student council elections. Bulma lost to Vegeta, but she wasn't surprised or really even disappointed. She mainly ran just to irritate him, and that objective seemed to have been achieved.

"Aye, sorry you lost the election, mom," a boy said to Bulma as he passed, his friends laughing hysterically beside him.

"What the fuck did you just call me!?" Bulma growled, despite her efforts at sounding threatening the boy continued to laugh. He opened his mouth, but before he could reply, both he and Bulma jumped at the startling sound of a fist hitting the wall not three feet away. They turned to find Vegeta glowering at the group of boys, all of whom had now stopped laughing.

"Beat it," he commanded, and they scrambled away without a moment's hesitation. Bulma crossed her arms as he approached. His angry expression softened, but not by much.

The pair stared at each other silently, and as time stretched on Bulma grew more uncomfortable. She just didn't know where they stood. Time had passed since everything blew up, but had the dust settled enough to gage what remained of their relationship? She couldn't tell.

Bulma was almost convinced he was having the same internal conversation as she was. The intense eye contact was starting to make her palms sweat, so she dared to speak first. "Come to rub in your victory?"

She didn't know why that was the first thing to come to mind. There was at least a hundred more important things she wanted to talk to him about. Vegeta didn't reply, didn't give any indication that he heard her speak at all. He just continued staring and his gaze was unnerving, as if he was analyzing her. Bulma couldn't help the words that fell from her lips. "Well, newsflash, I don't even care. So don't bother."

Another moment passed before the corner of Vegeta's mouth twitched up into a smirk, like he had finally figured out what he had been puzzling over. He leaned closer, invading her personal space in a way that made Bulma stop breathing. "I hope this reminded you of  _your place_  here, at  _my school_ ," he said, before walking away. Bumping his shoulder against hers as he passed.

Bulma's gaze followed him, her brow furrowed in confusion. ' _What the fuck was that supposed to mean?_ ' He hadn't talked to her like that since they had first met.

And then it occurred to her.

He wanted to go back to the beginning, erase everything that had transpired between them, the good and the bad. She was just his competition again, an obstacle in the way of his goals. Like she meant nothing to him.

* * *

Chi Chi sat in her usually shady spot as she watched lacrosse practice conclude and the boys head into the locker room. Her stomach was churning with nerves. Now was the time, she was going to tell Goku about the pregnancy.

Goku approached several minutes later a bright smile plastered on his face. He looked so happy, and this would ruin his great mood. She should just wait. ' _No! No more excuses!_ ' Chi Chi chided herself internally as Goku greeted her taking a seat next to her.

After a harsh swallow, she spoke, "I have something I need to tell you."

"Me too!" Goku beamed.

Okay, not quite the answer she expected but she couldn't deviate from the plan. "It's really important… life altering…" she said seriously.

"Me too!" he repeated, his smile growing impossibly bigger. Chi Chi narrowed her eyes, Goku was easily enthused, his news could be that he's found a new pizza topping. She couldn't let this distract her from her mission.

"Well, let me go first," she said and he nodded happily, grabbing her hand in his. Her gaze fell to their joined hands as she took a deep, calming breath. She could do this. She  _needed_  to do this. Chi Chi looked up into Goku's brown eyes. "I'm pregnant."

His smile fell into a flat line. His eyes glazed over as he began staring at some point in the distance, his brain working in overdrive, asking a million questions like what they were going to do, figuring the true reason Bulma was rumored to be pregnant and maybe screaming a few curses. At least that's what the raven haired girl guessed. She gave him a moment to process the new information, being as patient as she could manage.

But when a few minutes had passed and he had yet to speak, Chi Chi feared the shock of it all just broke his brain. "Goku?" she asked softly. Nothing. "Goku?" she tried again, waving a hand in front of his face to regain his attention.

His eyes refocused and he looked down at her with his brow slightly furrowed. "Can you move to West City?"

"What?"

"West City," he repeated, as if it should make sense.

"No I heard you, I mean, what's that have to do with anything? What's in West City?"

"Well that was my news," he sighed, "I got the call as I was walking out of the locker room. I was accepted early admission at West City University." Chi Chi's eyes widened. "Mr. Piccolo offered me a full ride scholarship to play lacrosse. So as long as I keep my grades up and don't do anything stupid senior year, next fall I get to go to college for free and play the sport that I love. I mean, Chi, this is  _the dream_."

"Oh my gods," she cried, her face falling into her hands. "I'm ruining your life!"

"Chi," he said sadly.

"I'm happy for you, I really am. You deserve this," she looked up, eyes brimming with tears. "I would never want to take this opportunity from you. You don't have to do anything, I can figure this out by myself."

"Chi Chi, stop it," Goku said, his voice more serious than she had ever heard. She blinked at him, eyes wide as he grabbed her face and pulled her close so they were making direct eye contact. " _Nobody_  said you're ruining my life or that you have to do this alone, okay?"

She nodded weakly before he released her and continued, "I asked you to move to West City so that we can do this together. You said you wouldn't leave me, so don't run away because you think that's what I want or you think that's what's best for me.  _You're_  what's best for me." Goku's eyes flickered down to her stomach. "You… and our little buddy."

Chi Chi couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips at Goku's choice of words. "Okay," she nodded and he pulled her into a warm hug. None of her problems were solved, but finally telling Goku lifted a weight off her shoulders. He also answered her biggest question without her even having to ask. Goku wanted to keep this baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for your support! I can wait to read what you guys think in the comments! ❤️


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine) (aka best beta ever)

Vegeta growled as he heard Goku let himself into his dorm room, his loud steps trudging along the floors. "Gods, do you ever knock?" he sassed without bothering to look up. Vegeta was in the middle of a physics study guide, finals were coming up and he needed to focus.

"Bulma isn't pregnant," Goku said without preamble.

"Okay, well not that I care anymore. She said the same thing to me, but why should I belie-"

"Chi Chi is."

Vegeta's eyes grew wide as the pencil slipped out of his hand. All the dots suddenly started to connect. Bulma had denied the pregnancy rumors, but not as adamantly as he expected her to, which is why he thought she had been lying. She took the gossip and ridicule from their classmates to distract from Chi Chi.

He slowly turned over his shoulder and found his best friend standing in the center of the room, silent and trembling. "When'd you find that out?" Vegeta asked.

"Just now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Everything's going to be okay," Goku said. Vegeta lifted a brow, that didn't really answer his question. "Everything's going to be okay," Goku repeated, and Vegeta realized he was talking to himself more than anything.

"Okay you're freaking out," Vegeta said, standing up from his chair before approaching his friend cautiously. "And understandably so, but maybe you should come up with a plan."

"I'm not freaking out!" Goku yelled defensively. "She was freaking out! I… I'm not allowed to freak out! I…" he swallowed harshly. His jumble of emotions threatening to surface. "I have to be strong for her."

"Everything's going to be okay," Vegeta repeated Goku's choice mantra, in an attempt to calm him down. Goku just nodded, his frantic expression softened slightly. Vegeta tried to get more from Goku with an easier question, "so what did you say when she told you?"

"Well, I was already planning on asking her to come to West City with me after graduation, so I just did that. And she, uhh, I'm pretty sure agreed."

"Okay, that sounds like a good start."

"I'm scared," Goku whispered, raking his hand over his face. "I barely even had a father, how am I supposed to be one?"

Vegeta furrowed his brow, he wasn't really great at this stuff. "You'll figure it out. And you have friends like me… and Bulma, who will help you guys out in anyway that we can," Vegeta said resting his hand on Goku's shoulder and giving him a comforting squeeze.

He almost regretted the contact when Goku pulled him into a firm (way too long) hug, but if there was ever a time to allow your best friend to hug you against your will, this was probably it. Vegeta patted Goku on the back, "everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Chi Chi sat in the bathroom stall doing her business before first period, when a group of boisterous girls walked in. They congregated in front of the mirror, primping and gossiping, but the raven haired girl didn't pay them any mind. Until she heard her name.

"Yeah, someone in my third period class told me that junior girl, Chi Chi King, is  _pregnant_! Can you believe that?"

"No way!" Two voices laughed unison. Her heart was about to beat out of chest as the walls of the bathroom stall suddenly felt like they were closing in on her. How was it possible that people already knew? It had only been two weeks and she had barely told anyone.

"I'm not surprised!" A fourth voice chimed in, "I heard she's like  _a total slut_." A hand covered her mouth to conceal the shocked gasp that escaped her lips. Goku was her first actual boyfriend, well her first actual a lot of things for that matter. How could people be spreading such blatant lies!?

"I once heard she's fucked  _every_  guy on the lacrosse team!"

"Ew! That's just nasty!"

Her vision blurred as heavy tears began to form in her eyes. Chi Chi's body trembled softly as she tried to contain her sobs as quietly as possible. Bulma had said that boys were noticing her because of her newfound confidence, but was it actually because they heard she was  _easy_?! Or was it because she was seen talking to and helping those different guys that people made those types of assumptions? She was friendly with all the lacrosse boys, but that was because they were Goku's friends!

Can a girl seriously not be seen with a guy without people jumping to conclusions?!

The bell rang and the groups of girls and their mocking laughter left the bathroom. Chi Chi sat silently in the stall with tears streaming down her face. Then for the first time in her high school career, she decided to ditch class, she just really couldn't bear seeing anyone right now.

* * *

As Bulma suspected, Vegeta was doing his damnedest to treat her the way he did before they got together. Snide remarks and sarcastic quips were the content of most of their conversations. Except unlike before, he never was the one to provoke her, now he only ever reacted. It almost proved that maybe he really was trying to flirt with her back then... and that he definitely wasn't now.

She tried to avoid dwelling on the fact that he seemingly let go of their relationship much easier then she could. Bulma wasn't even sure what she wanted from him, though she obviously still harbored feelings for him, if the frequency he entered her thoughts was any indication.

But with his ' _we never happened_ ' attitude, she held very little hope that they would be able to resolve the issues that tore them apart. His inability to communicate about his feelings being chief among them.

When Bulma walked into first period, Vegeta was sitting on top of his desk, a group of their classmates surrounded him as he bragged about Kami knows what. "... the internship includes lodging on the office's campus and a pretty generous stipend, so I'll be living the high life this summer. You might even see me clubbing in West City," he laughed.

Bulma rolled her eyes as she slid into her desk. What even was this act he was putting on? For one, Vegeta didn't even like partying, and two, if he was actually going to get into any club in West City he would need a damn convincing fake ID. (She knew from personal experience.)

"Oh my gods, Vegeta!" a high pitched voice cooed, "that sounds so lit!" Bulma peeked over her shoulder just in time to see the owner of the voice, some blonde, lean in and touch Vegeta's bicep as she batted her eyelashes at him. Oh… well maybe the act was to impress someone in particular.

Barf.

"I mean really though," Vegeta continued, "what college is going to say no to me with Capsule Corp on my resume?"

Bulma whipped her head around, "Did you just say  _Capsule Corp_!?"

The group all turned their gaze to Bulma, the blonde particularly peeved by her intrusion in their conversation. But Vegeta didn't seem to mind, in fact, his smirk implied he had wanted her to hear. "Yeah, you  _jealous_?" he snarked.

Bulma's mouth fell open. Was this his idea of a joke? He couldn't possibly be serious…  _unless_ …

He really didn't know.

She hadn't told anyone about her father's company, except for Chi Chi, since arriving at Orange Star, but at her old school she didn't have to say anything. People just  _knew_. But then again, in those days Bulma was quick to exploit her wealth and status for social capital.

So it was entirely possible that Vegeta was completely oblivious to the fact that he would be living at  _her house_  this summer. Gods, this was  _rich_.

"Yeah, I'm  _sooo_  jealous," Bulma replied with a cheshire grin, before turning back around in her seat. Vegeta stared at the back of her head with narrowed eyes, he knew that wasn't it. There was something more she wasn't saying.

"Anyway!" Launch said, wanting to regain his attention, "tell us more!" But before Vegeta could continue the bell rang for the start of class.

"Maybe later," Vegeta said as he stood, and Launch pouted before venturing to her own desk. Talk about saved by the bell, that girl's voice was starting to get annoying.

* * *

"Oh my gods," Bulma sighed dramatically as she plopped onto her bed. "You'll never believe it.  _Vegeta_  of all people has an internship at Capsule this summer. Ugh! Now on top of trying to work on things with my dad, I have to decide if I'm going to talk to him."

"Talk to Vegeta, don't talk to Vegeta. What does it even matter?" Chi Chi replied, her tone annoyed, as she lay on her bed with her back toward Bulma. "From what you described your property is so big you may not even run into him."

"Well, I mean…" Bulma mumbled, suddenly feeling stupid for making it such a big deal.

"I don't know why you act like your relationship with your dad is some rubik's cube. Just tell him you want to hangout with him, if he says he's busy, instead of just getting offended and pouting, persist. Just tell him exactly what it is you want from him. Its unfair of you to think anyone, especially  _a fucking man,_ is going to read your mind."

"Damn, Chi," Bulma cringed, "that might have been some valid advice, but you're being kinda mean."

"Mean?" Chi Chi grumbled as she rolled over to face Bulma. Her brown eyes fierce. " _Mean_?!" she repeated as if the suggestion alone was an affront. " _Mean_  is making up lies about someone you've never met!  _Mean_  is whispering, and pointing,  _and laughing_  at a girl while she's at her most vulnerable!  _Mean_  is a school that would mock me, while at the same time probably giving Goku fucking high fives in the locker room for being  _such a man_!" Chi Chi screamed. "HE DID THIS TO ME! But he gets NONE of the ridicule! How is that FAIR?!"

Bulma gaped at the raven haired girl with wide eyes. Her eruption, her language so out of character, it took a moment for her to process. "I… I'm sorry," Bulma said quietly. She couldn't even imagine what could have happened to provoke her roommate like this.

"UGH!" Chi Chi huffed, before she shoved her face into a pillow and let out another muffled scream.

Bulma approached her friend's bed with a sad frown. "Chi, do you really think if Goku suffered that would make you feel any better?"

She pulled the pillow from her face to find Bulma staring at her with sympathetic eyes. Chi Chi sighed, "No… but maybe it would make him understand an inkling of what I'm going through."

"I understand," Bulma offered, as she sat down next to her and placed a hand on Chi Chi's, "at least a little bit. Just last week people were saying awful shit about  _me_  being pregnant."

The raven haired girl pulled her hand away and her gaze fell to the floor. "The only difference is, you could brush it off because it wasn't true." Bulma shoulders slumped in defeat, she was right.

"I don't mean to be insensitive to what's going on with you," Chi Chi sighed. "I know how tough things have been with your dad, but can you just imagine how hard it is for me to hear you talk about it. You have to go home and tell your dad you want to spend more time together, but I have to go home and tell my dad I want to move away with the boy that got me pregnant and probably not go to college at all."

Bulma grimaced, her issues really did feel small by comparison. But instead of being discouraged or feeling invalidated, she grew a renewed sense of certainty. Her problems with her dad were solvable. She would follow Chi Chi's advice, be clear and direct in telling her dad what it was she wanted from him as a father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys all for the love and support on this story!! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this new chapter!  
> also, just a heads up, expect a delay in the posting of the next update as I will be spending this weekend at Anime Expo! ❤️be sure to follow me on twitter to catch pictures of my Majin Vegeta cosplay!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for your patience with this update! and as always thank you to [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

The school year had officially ended and everyone would be heading home for summer break today. The girls had spent the majority of the night before packing up and eating cookie dough as they told each other how much they would miss one another. They promised to call frequently so that they could update each other on parents and boys and the baby.

The pair sat in the bathroom together one last time, Bulma held up Chi Chi's hair and rubbed her back soothingly while she threw up for the second time that morning.

"Ugh," the raven haired girl groaned. "I don't even know what I ate that was that color." Bulma grimaced as she turned away, not daring to look at the puke Chi Chi was referring to, in fear it might make her hurl too. Chi Chi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she stood up, giving Bulma a pitiful 'thank you' before making her way to the sink.

Bulma leaned against the bathroom door watching her roommate as she gurgled some water. "What are you going to do? I mean if you had a bump you could hide it under loose fitting clothes, but near daily vomiting is not something I think will go unnoticed by your parents."

Chi Chi's shoulders slumped. "I'll just be really quiet," she said half joking. Bulma raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Okay. I know. I'll have to tell them really soon, but... I guess I'm just worried. Like what if they're so mad they kick me out of the house?" Chocolate brown eyes drifted to the floor as she bit her lip nervously.

"I don't think that'll happen, but worst case scenario you can always come live at Capsule Corp!" Bulma smiled before pulling Chi Chi into a hug. "Everything's going to work out, I promise." She said the phrase for herself as much as she did to her friend.

* * *

 

Goku carried the majority of Chi Chi's luggage to the curb where parents were picking up their kids. Cars were filing in and out of the drive, family reunions abound. Chi Chi kept glancing around nervously. "Maybe you should leave before my dad gets here," she mumbled.

"Why?" Goku frowned, "Don't you want me to meet him?"

"To be honest, _no_. My parents always discouraged me from having a boyfriend, so maybe we should wait until I see how they react to my other news."

"Oh.. well okay. If that's what you -"

"Is that my princess?!" A deep voice called from the street.

Chi Chi cringed. "I guess it's too late now," she whispered before whipping around to face the hulking man. "Daddy!" she screamed happily in an octave higher than her normal voice. Goku's hand covered his mouth to conceal a laugh.

Goku picked up her luggage and edged closer to the car as Chi Chi leapt into the man's arms. After they released their embrace, Mr. King looked up as if noticing Goku for the first time.

"And who might this be?" he asked.

Goku reached his hand out confidently, "Goku Son, sir." Mr. King took Goku's hand and squeezed it a little more aggressively than Goku would have expected.

The hulking man leaned in close without releasing their handshake. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Goku swallowed. "Um… I was helping her with her luggage."

Mr. King narrowed his eyes, his grip tightened and Goku grit his teeth to avoid reacting to the pain. "Don't get smart with me, boy. What are your intentions?"

Goku was starting to sweat. What was the right answer to such a question?!

"Daddy, stop it!" Chi Chi laughed as she pulled at her father's arm. The intense aura around him evaporated when he released Goku's hand and turned to smile down at his daughter.

"Did you want to get some ice cream on the way home?" he asked and she nodded with a bright smile.

"I just want to say goodbye to Goku real quick," Chi Chi told him, batting her eyelashes innocently. Mr. King shot Goku a look before he finished packing Chi Chi's belongings in the trunk and headed told the driver's door.

Goku leaned in to give Chi Chi a goodbye kiss but she turned away so that his lips landed on her cheek instead. He pulled away and looked down at her with a confused frown, her brows were raised and she used her eyes to point over her shoulder. There, standing by the driver's side of his car with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face was her dad staring at them.

Goku laughed nervously, "umm, so you'll call me? Tell me how everything goes?"

"Definitely. Ugh! I'm going to miss you so much!"

"I'm going to miss you! Maybe I can come visit you?" he suggested hopefully.

"Well that will depend on how everything goes when I tell them. My dad already knows your name and what you look like. If you come over it'll just save him the trouble of hunting you down to kill you."

"That's a joke, right?" Goku grimaced. Then the horn of her father's car honked impatiently.

Chi Chi squeezed his hand, "I have to go but I'll talk to you soon!" She scurried over to the passenger door, but turned around to give him one last wave.

"Wait!" he called, "you were just joking, right?!" But the car was already driving away and Goku sighed. Man, he really didn't want to get murdered.

* * *

 

Chi Chi stared out the car window as she reflected on the past school year. For the last several months, she found herself anxious every time the topic of the future came up. Everyone was devising their perfect formula of grade point average, test scores, and extracurriculars to get themselves into the best possible college, while she herself was still trying to decide if that's the path she even truly desired.

The unrelenting pressure to become a doctor or lawyer or whatever career that made enough money and held enough esteem to make her parents proud was insufferable. For a long time Chi Chi imagined that she would go to college, because that's what she felt she was supposed to do. It's what her parents wanted and that's what everyone else was doing.

It just never felt quite right, she didn't seem to feel the excitement her peers did. Deciding whether she valued her parents' admiration and pride over her own happiness left her restless many nights.

Most would assume a pregnancy at seventeen would ruin her, completely derailing her life and any semblance of a plan she did have. But for Chi Chi the revelation that she was now responsible for another person had given her more direction than anything else. The situation forced her to become more decisive. She didn't have the luxury of wandering aimlessly until she figured out her path anymore, she had to do what was best for her baby.

Chi Chi first decided that she would move to West City. Goku had asked and being with her baby's father felt like the right move. Second, she really didn't want to waste her time and money going to college and studying something she didn't care about. Goku's scholarship would cover a lot of their living expenses, but maybe she could find some part time work at a bakery. Like Bulma had said her skills and interests in baking could certainly be a career if she desired, but right now her primary focus would be on being a mother.

The only thing left to decide was how she was going to tell her father. Chi Chi glanced over at the man, his hulking form barely fitting into their family's small car. She let out a soft sigh. She could only imagine how disappointed he'll be.

Despite the fact that she was nearing adulthood, her father still insisted on treating her like a little girl, ' _his princess_ '. She really had no clue how he was going to react when he finds out his baby is having a baby. For a moment, she worried the news might affect his already high blood pressure. Chi Chi grimaced as she knocked her head against the car window.

What if finding out that she's pregnant gives him a heart attack? What is the idea that his precious, little princess had been defiled by some boy actually kills him?!

* * *

 

Bulma waited near the curb with her belongings, the cars passing by were far less frequent now that most of her peers had already been picked up. She checked the time once more and sighed. Her dad was late picking her up, but she tried to tell herself that it was due to traffic or something around the city. The north bridge can be pretty congested this time of day.

She perked up when a black sedan pulled up next to her, but instead of being greeted by a lavender haired man with a bushy mustache, it was one of her father's assistants.

"Hello Miss Bulma!" the young man said as he began loading her luggage into the car. "Your father was tied up with an important board meeting, but he sends his regards."

"I'm sure he does," Bulma mumbled as she settled in her seat.

* * *

 

"Hey dad," Bulma said meekly, poking her head into her father's office.

"Oh hi darling! So glad you made it home," Dr. Briefs replied. His tone was enthusiastic, but he didn't bother looking up from his computer screen. Bulma pursed her lips, stamped down the feeling of being ignored and ventured inside. "So sorry I couldn't pick you up, things have been very busy the last few days with the end of the fiscal quarter coming up."

"Its fine," she said, trying her best not to sound bitter. His vigorous typing never wavered as he asked her about the drive home and her final exams. She couldn't help but wonder which conversation he was paying more attention to.

Despite her increasing ire that he still had not looked at her for more than a second, Bulma was determined to not let it get under her skin. She didn't want to be the little brat who threw fits to get his attention anymore. She was a new woman, more mature and understanding and... what the fuck was he even typing anyway?!

"Dad, can you look at me for a sec?"

Dr. Briefs looked up, his eyebrows raised. "What is it, Bulma? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," she said with a shake of her head. "I just was wondering if we could get lunch together tomorrow. Just the two of us."

"Oh, tomorrow afternoon I have a lot of meetings. But if you wanted to go somewhere you can take the car." Bulma clenched her fists as she willed herself to not throw a fit at him completely missing the point. Chi Chi's advice echoed in her mind, ' _instead of getting offended and pouting, persist_ '.

"What about tomorrow night? Say around 8pm? I could order a pizza and bring it down to your lab."

Dr. Briefs looked down at a notebook next to his computer, flipping a page before he looked back up again. "That actually could work."

* * *

 

Holding her promised pizza, Bulma ventured down into her father's lab at 8pm sharp. She felt silly that she was a little nervous. She didn't think her proposition was that unreasonable, but she had regularly been disappointed by him before.

When she walked in, Dr. Briefs lifted his welding mask and greeted her with a smile. "Hello dear! That pizza smells divine," he commented as he set down his blow torch and pushed away from his workbench. He rolled his stool over to a clear table and patted the surface. After setting the pizza down, she pulled her own stool over and the pair dug in.

Bulma kept eyeing her father as he ate, willing herself to just open her mouth and speak. The idea that he may reject her weighed heavily in her stomach, but she made a promise to herself to at least try. "So dad..." she began. "I was thinking this summer, I'd like to shadow you at work."

Dr. Briefs raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure? I think you might have more fun hanging out with your friends or shopping or something. Did you need some money?"

Bulma grit her teeth, resisting the urge to storm out of the room like she might have just six months ago. "Yes Dad, I'm sure. I'm going to apply to West Tech to study aerospace engineering. I want to help you in your lab and learn about the business aspects of Capsule Corp. If I'm going to take over the business one day, I should start learning now, don't you think?"

"You want to take over Capsule?" he asked with genuine surprise.

Bulma didn't know why she suddenly felt timid. "Yes... isn't that what you want?"

Dr. Briefs gave her a huge smile, "I would love that! I just wasn't sure if you had been truly interested, I didn't want to pressure you, but this is wonderful news!"

Her heart fluttered as a grin spread across her face. She couldn't believe that's all she had to say!

"But West Tech?" Dr. Briefs asked with a hint of teasing. "Are you sure you don't want to go to my alma mater?"

Bulma couldn't help but laugh. "Oh c'mon Dad! Everyone knows West Tech has the best program in the country, leading in research and development. If I want to be the best I have to learn with the best!"

Dr. Briefs was beaming, happy to hear that his daughter had traded her old mischievous ways for plans for the future. "Well I'd love to have you shadow me and assist in the lab. There will be some meetings that you won't be allowed to attend, of course, but I'm sure we can find plenty of work for you to get your hands dirty!"

Bulma nodded eagerly. "Why don't you come to my office tomorrow morning, I'll have one of my assistants help you get fitted for a lab coat and some coveralls."

"Sounds perfect!" she smiled. This summer was going to be amazing! Doing important work with her dad and impressing him with her knowledge was sure to bridge the gap between them. Bulma almost totally forgot that Vegeta would be here too.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! thanks so much for your patience with this update! July has been quite the whirlwind for me, I went to Anime Expo, then to Hawaii, then to visit my family before I driving 2500 miles to my new home in a brand new city! I have a lot of fun ideas for some of the coming chapters so I appreciate you sticking with me!
> 
> And as always thank you to my wonderful beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Bulma was beginning to enjoy spending time shadowing her father at work. Every time he seemed impressed with her knowledge of advanced physics or math it made her heart so happy. Dr. Briefs would go through the motions of his day like normal, but he would think aloud, to allow for Bulma to follow his thought process and decision making. He would even occasionally ask her what she thought would work. His pride in her genius was evident in the way he bragged to the other engineers on the projects they worked on.

What Bulma also quickly learned was how truly busy her father was. Often she found that they would have to stop working so he could help another or give his opinion or approve a decision. The interruptions caused his own work to be delayed or set aside, and when Bulma had asked when they would finish he would always say 'later, maybe once everyone else has gone home'. It suddenly made sense why her father was never at their home at a decent hour.

Each day she gained a greater understanding of the gravity of what it meant to run a company like Capsule Corp. So many people looked to her father for leadership. The expectation from everyone around him to be ever so brilliant and innovative must have been stressful. Bulma began to feel guilty that on top of the pressure he felt at work that he had to deal with all her school drama when she was misbehaving.

* * *

Vegeta stepped off the train at Union Station full of excitement. The city was buzzing with energy, a reminder of the great summer he had in store. He had been born in West City, but despite not being back in several years, the city resonated with him as if reuniting with an old friend.

He gazed around the vast train station, looking for his internship contact as all the commuters rushed around him. Applying for this internship and getting out from under his father's thumb was the best decision he made all year. In the week before the internship, he was constantly reminded that he should be more productive, that a workout should be more important than playing video games or a college prep workbook should be his focus instead of social media.

Sometimes he just wanted to tell his dad to lighten up, it was summer after all.

Across the way, Vegeta spotted a man holding a sign saying 'V. Ouji' with the Capsule Corp logo and made his way over to him. The man then escorted him to a car and drove him to the Capsule Corp. campus in the center of downtown West City. Vegeta couldn't believe how nice everything was. If this was how they treated the interns, did the executives just get carried around all day?!

When he arrived he was greeted by a perky 20-something with long black hair and dressed in business casual. "Vegeta! It's so great to meet you!" she beamed as she grabbed his hand in a surprisingly firm handshake. "I'm Mai and I'm your internship coordinator. We're going to jump right in, so follow me!"

She began walking and Vegeta hurried behind her. "We'll start with a tour of the facilities and then we'll break for lunch before we go over your role and the work we'll have you be doing." Vegeta nodded excitedly as Mai led him through the sleek halls towards the residential area.

"This is the guest lodging used for interns, such as yourself, fellows, and any foreign guest researchers that come to work for Capsule Corp on long term projects. You'll be staying in a room that has been used by some pretty famous people in scientific community, isn't that cool?!" It was apparent that Mai was kind of a nerd, by the way she geeked out over the famous researchers who have worked at Capsule Corp. Vegeta set down his belongings in his designated room before they continued their tour through the many offices and labs.

They concluded their tour at the employee cafeteria. "All the food inside is free, you can come here anytime of day to eat or grab a coffee," Mai told him. "Go ahead and help yourself to some lunch, I need to run to the ladies' room really quick and then I'll join you."

Vegeta walked into the building to find a self serve buffet with the most delicious smelling food. A smile unconsciously spread across his face. Okay, that does it. Capsule Corporation is paradise.

And just as he thought that, he spotted a lavender haired girl loitering by the cappuccino machine. Of course!  _Of fucking course_ , Bulma had an internship here, too! That's why she was acting so smug when he was talking about spending his summer here. Could he really not have one thing that he didn't have to compete with her for?!

Without thinking, his feet carried him over to her and he grabbed her by the arm. "What are you doing here?!" he growled quietly in her ear.

Bulma turned over her shoulder and smiled like she had been waiting for him to show up. "Fancy meeting you here," she cooed. He grumbled and Bulma laughed before turning around and putting her hands on hips. "So, what do you want?" she said as if he was disturbing her precious cappuccino making time.

He should've have figured she wasn't a regular intern by the fact that she already had an ID badge and a personalized lab coat, but he was too distracted by what she was wearing underneath. A tiny pair of shorts and a tank top. "What are you wearing?" Vegeta said in a harsh whisper and they both looked down at her outfit. "You are so unprofessional! Oh my gods, your conduct is an embarrassment to our school!"

"Pfft," Bulma rolled her eyes. "First of all, who are you? Your dad?" Vegeta frowned. "Secondly, it doesn't matter what I wear, I put coveralls on when I'm in the lab so mind your own damn business!"

"Vegeta!" his internship coordinator called, "Aren't you going to grab a tray?" Vegeta turned around plastering a fake smile on his face, and revealing Bulma, who stood behind him. "Oh!" she said, and Vegeta grew confused at the way Mai stood up a little straighter. "Miss Bulma! I didn't see you there!"

_Miss_ Bulma? She didn't address him that formally.

"I see you got to meet our new intern. He wasn't bothering you was he?" she asked, her tone overly polite and Vegeta turned to stare at her in disbelief.

"Maybe she was bothering me!" he suggested. Mai looked mortified for a second before she laughed exaggeratedly and elbowed Vegeta in the side.

"He was just teasing!" she smiled.

Bulma laughed to herself. "He's no bother, ma'am." She replied politely, "Vegeta and I are actually chums from school. Isn't that right, Vegeta?" Both women looked at him with smiles he found disconcerting. He had no idea what was happening right now.

"That's right," Vegeta mumbled as he narrowed his eyes at Bulma. Something wasn't adding up. Then suddenly the cappuccino machine dinged.

"Oh well, we'll let you get back to your coffee, Miss Bulma. Have a great rest of your day!"

"You too!" Bulma said sweetly, as Mai dragged Vegeta away. He peeked over his shoulder at her and the lavender haired girl gave him a sarcastic little wave.

Mai leaned close to Vegeta and whispered, "You didn't tell me you were friends with the heiress of Capsule Corp! That's so cool!"

Wait a second…  _HEIRESS?!_

* * *

Bulma was laying out by the pool soaking in the afternoon sun, while her father attended a budget meeting. It was a hot day, the sky was a bright shade a blue and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. She breathed deeply in relaxation, her eyes closed as her body glistened with a combination of sweat and tanning oil.

When her face was suddenly covered in a shadow, Bulma peeled opened her eyes with mild confusion. There, looming over her with his arms crossed, was Vegeta.

Bulma smirked, "why hello there, colleague."

"Do you think you're funny or something?" Vegeta growled, not the least bit amused.

Bulma sat up in her lounge chair and pushed her sunglasses up into her hair so that she could look him in the eye. "I do, actually." Blue eyes sparkled with mischief as her smile grew wider.

"You could have told me you were the heiress of Capsule Corp - I don't know! - when we were dating! Or at least when I mentioned my internship," Vegeta scowled, his eyes narrowed in mistrust.

Bulma huffed, he didn't ' _mention'_  his internship he was full on bragging to anyone in their class who would listen. "And miss the look on your face when you found out?" she sassed, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Bulma stood and crossed her arms to mirror his defensive stance. "Also were we ever really dating? I mean you sure did throw me out on prom night like an insignificant piece of trash! All for my crime of trying to comfort you!"

And there it was. The incident that pulled them apart finally spoken, finally out in the open.

Vegeta's gaze fell to the ground, suddenly awash with guilt. He never meant to hurt her. "I didn't… I mean I just…" he frowned unable to really vocalized his feelings of regret. Instead he reverted to an easier and more familiar emotion: anger.

"I tried to apologize but you ignored me! It's not my fault you're so immature!" Vegeta snapped, his glare refocused on her.

"Immature!?" Bulma screeched as she stepped into his personal space and poked him hard in the chest. "I'm not the one with the emotional intelligence of a fucking ape!" Her face was flushed from the heat and her fury, her eyes seemingly bluer by contrast.

She continued to rant and Vegeta tried to remain focused on his annoyance even though her proximity and the way her barely concealed chest heaved with anger was very distracting. Why was she constantly so immodest!?

Why was she constantly so infuriating?!

"I hate you!" he heard himself yell. In response to what, he wasn't even sure.

Bulma gasped. "Well I hate you more!" she screamed before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "I hate you so fucking much, it makes me sick!" she snarled in his face with enough conviction that he almost believed it.

Vegeta clenched his fists at his sides. Her incessant need to invade his personal space was bordering on dangerous. "I hate you so much… I just…" he began, but he lost his train of thought when his eyes drifted to her pouty mouth. "I just…"

Then without thought he closed the small distance between them, thrusting his lips against hers with abandon. His hands found her hips and pulled her lithe body tight against his own. It wasn't but a moment before her grip on his collar tightened and she was pulling him down to deepen their furious kiss.

He had missed this more than he realized. The way her lips felt against his, the way her soft skin felt on his hands. When her fingers slid into his hair, he was nearly purring.

Then suddenly she was no longer pulling him closer, instead her hands were on his chest pushing him away. Vegeta released his hold on her and Bulma stumbled back a few steps, her lips were pinkened from his attention, her eyes wide with… fear?

He furrowed his brow, confused by her apparent reaction. She had kissed him back, why was she acting like it was all one sided? Her fingers lightly touched her lips as if he had burned her. "Why… why would you do that?" she whispered.

The question was enough to stun him.  _Why had he kissed her?_  During a screaming match, no less. Vegeta opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He couldn't explain because he didn't know himself.

"You don't make any sense!" Bulma declared before she swiped her towel off the lounge chair and walked away.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so very much to my wonderful beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

"He did  _what_?" Chi Chi exclaimed.

"I KNOW!" Bulma shouted back, her phone pressed against her ear and shoulder as she painted her nails. "The last time I saw him he was pretending like he we never happened and now he thinks he can just make out with me like him ignoring me never happened?! Ugh! I'm so sick of this hot and cold with him!"

"Oh Bulma, it just sounds like he's confused," her friend offered sympathetically.

"Hell, I'm the one that's confused! Every time I think I'm almost over him, he says or does something stupid like that and I always fall right into his trap," Bulma sighed. "Its like he does it on purpose."

"You make it sound like he's trying to be malicious, B. I just really don't think that's the case."

"I don't know," Bulma grumbled into her phone. "I'm not even sure who I'm more mad at: Vegeta for kissing me like that after all this time or myself for kissing him back. I was like, this close to just pulling him up into my room and letting him have his way with me!" Chi Chi giggled on the other end of the line. "It's not funny! Ugh, it just drives me nuts to think after everything he still has that kind of power over me... I just… I feel so stupid."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself, Bulma. You really liked him, getting over something like that takes time. But, I mean, it doesn't really sound like you want to be done. Do you still want to be with him?"

"Oh gods, I don't know."

"You should try talking to him. I just feel like you never really worked through your issues. Maybe once you guys have an honest conversation you'll know you can move on or get back together."

"Ugh!" Bulma sighed dramatically. "That's the whole problem, Chi! Vegeta doesn't know how to use words! That's why he's so frustrating!"

"Well, I mean if you're having to read his actions, I would have to say him kissing you again is a definite sign of lingering interest," Chi Chi said. "To be honest, I really doubt Vegeta ever stopped liking you, him ignoring you was probably just some kind of defense mechanism."

"Even if that's the case, do I really want to be with someone who's that dumb?!"

"I don't know, do you?"

Bulma screamed away from the phone's receiver, knowing that she did in fact want to be with someone who was that dumb.

"Let's talk about something else," Bulma tried. "How's Goku doing?"

"Do you really want to hear how sweet and perfect my boyfriend is?" Chi Chi teased.

"Ugh, no," Bulma laughed, then Chi Chi joined her.

"So did you talk to your parents today?" Bulma asked, the question was somewhat rhetorical being that Chi Chi had avoided telling her parents for two weeks now. Either the day was going well and she didn't want to ruin it or the day was going poorly and she didn't want to make it worse. Bulma asked everyday, and everyday Chi Chi was armed with a new excuse. She tried not to fault her friend, this was probably the most difficult conversation she would ever have.

Chi Chi was silent for a moment, and Bulma's eyes grew wide in anticipation. "... I did actually," the raven haired girl mumbled on the other line.

Bulma jolted up, "Well! That - that's good, right?! How'd it go? Shit, what'd they say?" She was proud of Chi Chi, this was a huge and very scary step, but she also felt suddenly anxious, her friend's tone not exactly inviting confidence.

"It went... about as well as expected."

Bulma grimaced, Chi Chi had really poor expectations of how telling her parents about her pregnancy would go. "My mom cried like  _a lot,_ but I think overall she wants to be supportive. She said she was just so scared for how hard this would be for me, especially moving to West City to be with Goku. She's worried I'll have to take care of everything by myself… which I guess is mostly true. But she helped me find a doctor, so I have an appointment next week."

"Well that's good, and what about your dad?"

"He… he actually didn't say anything," Chi Chi mumbled. "He left the room and hasn't spoken to me since."

"Oh Chi, I'm so sorry!"

"So, yeah, I guess we'll see how long he keeps this up. I might just be such a disappointment, that's easier for him to pretend I don't exist," she sighed.

"Don't say that! You're a rockstar, okay?!" Bulma said, trying her best to remain optimistic. "You have a plan, a good plan, and you and Goku and that baby are going to be so damn happy, that no one else's opinion will matter."

Chi Chi sniffled, giving away that she had started to cry. "Yeah, you're right," she replied, unconvincingly.

Her relationship with her dad had always been something Chi Chi held dear, and now for it to feel so fragile, disturbed a piece of her identity. A person who's adoration and love shaped her self-confidence, now choosing to pull away left Chi Chi feeling hollow. Bulma's words were kind, but they just weren't enough to mend the ache in her heart left by her father's rejection.

* * *

Bulma trekked down the hallway behind her father, taking notes as he discussed the company's next big project with one of his chief advisors. She peered up when a strange feeling fluttered in her gut and found herself caught in a familiar dark gaze.

Walking the opposite direction down the hall was a sophisticated brunette in a lab coat with Vegeta in tow. The researcher was talking to him, but it was apparent that his attention had waned. Bulma looked back down at her notes, trying to pretend she hadn't noticed him, but as their steps got closer she couldn't help but peek back up. He still hadn't looked away.

Bulma was slightly unnerved by the way he stared at her. What was he thinking? Did he regret kissing her? Did she care if he did?

Two days had passed and they hadn't uttered a word to each other. Bulma was half way convinced Vegeta would go back to ignoring her, and she almost wished he had, because this whole staring thing was making her feel weird.

His expression was relatively neutral so she didn't believe he was mad at her for leaving him high and dry after their impromptu kiss. It was as if he was noticing something about her, but Bulma couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

She checked her appearance in the reflection of her phone, but there wasn't anything on her face. That was a dumb theory anyway, if there had been, he'd probably be laughing or at the very least smirking at her looking stupid.

So what then? What could be so fucking interesting about her face that he would openly stare at her?!

Bulma scowled at him as he passed and he finally turned away. She peeked over her shoulder at him and Vegeta seemed to have returned his attention back to the researcher he was following. Bulma raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. What was his game?

She was irritated the rest of the day as thoughts of his hands on her during their last encounter replayed in her mind. Maybe that was his plan, to torture her to death.

* * *

Vegeta set off down the streets of West City after work. He had to get away from Capsule Corp and the constant reminders of Bulma and his failure at their relationship. Every time they were in the same room, his eyes gravitated to her of their own volition, but she only glared back. She was mad at him, no doubt, but even if he could muster the courage to explain his actions the other day, he didn't have words that felt adequate.

He walked without a particular destination in mind, just the hope that some air would help clear his mind. After some time he found himself at the large park the city centered around.

Joggers zipped by in their packs as tourists were milling about on the paths. Vegeta bought a pretzel from a street vendor before sitting down on a bench. He gnawed at it mindlessly as he stared off into the distance, trying to think of anything but a particular lavender haired girl.

Suddenly a playground in the distance caught his attention. Children were running around and laughing cheerfully, the sight and that particular playground felt achingly familiar. Vegeta began thinking about someone who he had long resigned to forget.

It had been quite some time since they had been in contact, he wondered if she still lived in West City. His hand twitched over his phone. He could probably look her up on the internet. Supposedly her art career was doing well (despite the fact that she dropped out of school) and if that was true, she would be pretty easy to find.

He wasn't sure if it was because tracking her down served as a distraction or if the inkling of her memory just made him curious. Curious as to how she was doing and even maybe what she looked like these days. Regardless of his true motives, Vegeta found himself on the subway, en route to the arts district where her gallery was supposed to be located.

The elevator chimed loudly as the doors opened at the 14th floor. Vegeta stepped out onto the polished concrete floors, his eyes immediately drawn to the paintings covering the walls. A little plaque sat next to each with the piece's name and medium.

"I'll be with you in just a minute!" a feminine voice called from deeper inside the loft, the sound was enough to make his heart rate increase. This was a mistake.

Vegeta's eyes darted back to the elevator that departed long ago. He considered trying to find the stairs to escape while he still could, but the sound of footsteps indicated she was approaching and he was out of time. He shoved his hands in his pockets, but stood up straight, tense and weirdly nervous to see her after so long.

"Hi, how can I help..." she asked as she rounded the corner, but her voice trailed off when her emerald green eyes spotted him. They stared at each other silently for a moment.

She wore paint splattered overalls that hung loosely on her petite frame. Her long, jet black hair cascaded down her back, she was beautiful, but so much older than he remembered. But what did he expect? It had been nearly ten years.

What was he even supposed to say after all that time? He should have prepared something before he just showed up here! Idiot!

Luckily, she spoke first. "Gods, you look just like him."

"I get that a lot," he sighed. "It's been a long time, Mom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for your understanding of my hiatus! I really appreciate everyone coming back to keep reading and leaving your sweet comments! I love you guys! I can't wait to hear what you think of this update!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so very much to my lovely beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine)

Vegeta sat uncomfortably in his mother's West City loft. She walked over handing him a glass of water and hopped up on the couch next to him with a smile. "So... what's up? How ya been?" she asked as if he was an old friend and not her estranged son.

"Um, pretty good I guess... I'm in town most of the summer for an internship at Capsule Corp." His mother nodded like she was listening as she produced a small rolled up cylinder from her pocket and proceeded to light it. "I'll be mostly shadowing the executives — wait... is that a joint?" Vegeta asked as she exhaled a puff of fragrant smoke.

"Oh I'm sorry! Did you want some?" she held it out in genuine offering.

He stiffly readjusted in his seat staring at the joint with a furrowed brow, before returning his gaze to her face. What kind of parent so casually offered their teenage son drugs?

"No," he frowned.

Her lips slid into a smirk that was painfully similar to his own. "Uh oh, Veggie, don't tell me you're a boring, old stick in the mud like your father?"

He really didn't appreciate being teased over what most parents would call ' _being responsible_ '. "Why wouldn't I be like him? He's the one who raised me!" he snapped.

Vegeta felt himself grow more angry as his mother rolled her eyes at him. "Is this what this is about? You've come to tell me what a terrible mother I've been," she said almost mockingly.

"Ugh," he groaned, dragging his palm down his face. "No... not that it isn't deserved. I came here to... to... I don't really know what I expected, actually."

"Well then how about we just chat and catch up. I'd really like to get to know who you've become," his mother smiled warmly, "I can order some take out if you'd like to stay."

"Yeah," Vegeta nodded. "I'd actually like that a lot." His mother stood, placing her joint in a plate turned ashtray that was sitting on her coffee table before she tracked down her house phone.

It wasn't long before they we're sitting on opposite ends of the couch, chatting away over Chinese food. "Tell me, with a face like that you must be a real heartbreaker, huh?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Do you got any special girls in your life?" Vegeta couldn't help the heat that rose in his cheeks, suddenly his eyes found the noodles in his take out box very interesting. "...boys?" his mom amended.

Vegeta chuckled, "girls... or  _girl_..." His voice grew quiet, "or I'm not even really sure anymore, actually."

"Oh no! What happened? Tell mama all about it, Veggie!" she clapped seeming a little more excited than concerned.

"Oh gods, where do I even begin... Her name is Bulma," he grew embarrassed at the way he unconsciously smiled while saying her name. "Bulma is… well really smart. I just recently learned she's the heiress of Capsule Corp."

"Ooo!" his mother cooed.

"It makes more sense every time I think about it but anyway, she's smart, like genius level smart, and when she started at Orange Star she made sure to let everyone know just how smart she was. And like, I just hated that because being smart was supposed to be my thing!"

"So you were threatened by her?!" she interjected.

"No!" Vegeta said defensively, "I just found her really annoying."

"Oookay," she laughed, "so what did you do to prove you were smarter than her?"

"Well, uhh…" Vegeta averted his gaze. "I didn't really go that route, instead I just started making fun of her."

"Oh my gods! What? Like some playground crush?!"

"You make it sound so childish!" Vegeta blushed, "I don't even think I really liked her back then! But when I did start saying mean things to her, she fired back right away, and then it became like this little game that we played with each other."

"Enemies to lovers? I like it!" she clapped excitedly. Vegeta couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. It was weird though. He realized he had never really talked to anyone, even Bulma, about that time in their relationship. Vegeta assumed other people wouldn't understand. It sounded counterproductive to be mean to the girl you liked. "So then what happened?" his mother smiled.

"Well then I noticed her, ya know,  _noticing_  me. So that became the new thing, making fun of her for secretly being in love with me, and it just kind of evolved from there." Vegeta went on to describe his crying then kissing her and the comfort she offered, the soup, and the ordeal that was prom night. His mother listened thoughtfully.

"Why do you think your emotions embarrass you?" she asked sincerely.

Vegeta was caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"It sounds to me as though every opportunity you have to be vulnerable with this girl, you try to avoid it with anger or physical affections."

"I...uh…" Vegeta stuttered, but as he tried to justify to himself that wasn't what he did, each situation replayed in his mind to prove to him that was almost exactly what he did,  _every single time_. "I don't know... I mean, I didn't think I was embarrassed by my feelings."

And even as he said the words, he knew that was a lie. He was mortified when he had cried in front of Bulma the day they were to work on that project together.

"You say ' _being vulnerable_ ' like its something I should want," Vegeta furrowed his brow. "But I don't like feeling like that… ya know,  _weak_."

His mom pressed her hands to her face and groaned, before reaching out to him with both arms. "Okay, come here," she commanded. Vegeta gave her an incredulous look, but scooted closer to her on the couch. She grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight.

"Ow. What are you doing?" Vegeta asked awkwardly.

"I'm squeezing the toxic masculinity out of you."

"Oh shut up," Vegeta grumbled as he wriggled out of her embrace and his mother laughed.

"Sorry, that was me teasing," she chuckled, before she waved a hand in front of her face and put on a serious expression. "Now I'm being for real, so look me in the eyes. Vulnerability does not equate to weakness, okay? Being able to identify and express your emotions is both mature and healthy. Now I'm not saying you have to go around letting everyone know exactly how you feel all the time, but if there's anybody you should allow yourself to be vulnerable with its the people you love. So if you really like this girl, you shouldn't be embarrassed when she sees you having actual feelings, okay? You don't have to be scared, it's not like she's going to make fun of you."

"Our relationship started with making fun of each other," Vegeta pointed out and his mother couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, fair. But did she ever make fun of you when you were expressing your feelings?"

"...no…" he mumbled.

"Exactly! So I really think if you just try to talk to her! I'm sure you can work things out."

"I don't know," Vegeta shrugged, he still wasn't totally convinced that would solve his problems with Bulma. Last time they interacted, she kissed him back but then screamed at him. And now she just glares at him when she sees him in the hall. How was he supposed to bring it up? Would she even listen?

* * *

' _The size of a raspberry?_ ' Chi Chi thought, staring at the informational poster on pregnancy and fetus size in the doctor's waiting room. There was a raspberry-sized baby cooking inside her. It was kind of crazy to think about, but also kind of crazy that there was a fruit or vegetable equivalent for each stage of her baby's growth.

When would she start showing? When she had a pomegranate-sized baby? Chi Chi knew she had a petite frame and may start showing in early stages. She hadn't yet decided if she would wear loose sweaters to hide her bump when school began, but then again what was there to hide? Everyone already seemed to know.

Brown eyes scanned the waiting room, the other women there seemed older and more mature. Ready for a baby. They had their parenting books and their doting baby daddies by their sides. Chi Chi sighed, she wished Goku could be here. Instead, she was there with her father.

She glanced over at the stoic man, sitting in a chair too small for him with his arms crossed. Her mother thought that him taking her to her appointment would be a good idea, Chi Chi didn't agree.

It had officially been six days of her father's silent treatment, and it didn't hurt any less. How long could he go on like this? Until the baby was born? After?!

The thought had Chi Chi battling tears. Would he ignore her and the baby  _forever_?

"Chi Chi?" a young nurse in pastel pink scrubs called from the door. She stood and took a step towards the door before she turned back to her father.

"Did you want to come?" she asked meekly. Her father looked like he was debating with himself when the nurse chimed in.

"C'mon grandpa! It's okay, you're more than welcome to join us," she said her bright smile, indicating that she didn't sense the tension between them. Mr. King got up without a word and followed Chi Chi out of the waiting room. After checking her weight and blood pressure, the nurse escorted them down the corridor, and directed them into a patient room.

"You can take a seat, the doctor will be with you in a little bit." The raven haired girl hopped up on the exam table while her father sat in a nearby chair and crossed his arms over his chest again in silent protest.

It wasn't long before there were two light knocks at the door and the doctor let herself in. She looked down at her clipboard, "Hi there, Chi Chi! How are you?"

"I'm doing okay, I guess," she answered honestly.

The doctor set down her clipboard and grabbed a pair of gloves, "So it says in my notes you'll only have your first few visits with us and then you'll be transferring to our sister office that's closer to your school?"

"That's correct," Chi Chi nodded as the doctor began wheeling over a monitor.

"So you're at university, then?" she asked conversationally. "What are you studying?"

Chi Chi hesitated, a little embarrassed to correct her. "She's in high school," her father interjected, the disapproval apparent in his tone. The raven haired girl closed her eyes and sighed, he really wasn't going to get over this, was he? She felt a reassuring squeeze on her knee and peaked over to her doctor who gave an understanding smile.

"Well that's still exciting. I'm sure you'll be graduating soon," she said and Chi Chi smiled back. "So we'll just go over some preliminary questions, do a quick ultrasound and then get you on your way, sound good?" Chi Chi nodded, it was a shame she was going to have to get a new doctor when she went back to school, she liked this woman.

"So have you been feeling? Are you stressed?"

"I'm having a baby," Chi Chi deadpanned.

The doctor laughed, "I mean more specifically, do feel your heart rate accelerate at irregular times? Do you get headaches?"

She continued her questioning and Chi Chi realized that she was really going to have to start being more mindful about what was going on with her body if a tingling feeling could possibly mean she and her baby were dying.

The doctor finished her questions and typing up her notes before she asked Chi Chi to lift up her shirt. "It might be a little cold," the doctor warned as she squirted some kind of jelly on her stomach. She shivered slightly, it was cold. A wand hooked up to the machine was then rubbed on her stomach and Chi Chi watched the screen with interest.

"There it is…" the doctor pointed to the screen, "right there." Chi Chi squinted at the image, it looked more like a peanut than a raspberry. "It's still pretty early, but let's see if we can find a heartbeat."

A few twists of the wand on her belly and a moment later a little ' _womp womp womp_ ' sound came out of the monitor. "That's your baby's heartbeat," she smiled and Chi Chi felt her own heart rate increase. Something about the sound made everything feel so much more real.

Chi Chi furrowed her brow, "it sounds kind of fast? Is it okay?"

"Yeah, the average fetal heart rate is going to be faster than mine or yours. It sounds perfectly healthy." The raven haired girl sighed with relief. She looked back to the little black and white peanut on the monitor.

Holy shit. She was really having a baby.

"I'll get you a print out of the image," the doctor offered as she wiped the goo from Chi Chi's stomach. "And I can get a second copy for grandpa," she added with a wink.

As the doctor stepped out of the room, Chi Chi looked over at her father to find him covering his mouth, his eyes fixed on the monitor and brimming with tears. "Daddy?"

He tore his gaze away to look at her, his free hand reached over to capture hers and gave it a loving squeeze. "I'm so sorry, princess," he whimpered, before the tears fell from his eyes. "I've been so awful, but I'll be better, I promise. I'll always be there for you and your little baby, whatever you need."

His words were enough to make Chi Chi cry, too.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine) is the best beta ever.

Bulma and her father sat in his office, eating sandwiches and discussing Dr. Briefs upcoming schedule. Because when was the man not thinking about work? "So then at the end of the month, I'm presenting my latest theory on interstellar travel at a conference in South City. I was thinking you could join me, act as my assistant on stage?"

"That sounds great, dad!" Bulma smiled. Ever since she expressed an interest in his work, he had been so generous in trying to include her and teach her all that she could grasp.

"Then the following month…" Dr. Briefs began.

"Wait dad!" Bulma laughed, "You know I love talking about the company and making plans, but can't we just have a casual conversation, ya know, about life?" Dr. Briefs looked confused.

Oh right, the company was his life.

"I mean, you can ask me about my friends or what I do for fun at school," Bulma prompted. As their relationship strengthened, she wanted to feel like her dad knew and accepted the whole her, not just the genius part.

"Yeah, okay. Um," Dr. Briefs tried. "Who's your best friend?"

"Hmm, my best friend?" Bulma hummed, putting a finger to her lips. "It's got to be my roommate, Chi Chi. She's super cute and sweet. She was one of the first people I met when I transferred to Orange Star and we became fast friends."

"And what's she up to this summer?" her father asked, grabbing his soda to take a sip. The conversation started to flow more casually.

"She's in her hometown with her parents, but she's going through a bit of a hard time. Right before we left for summer break she found out she was pregnant."

Dr. Briefs spit out his drink in surprise. "Pregnant?!" he choked. "You-Your friends are… ar-are you, uhh…"

Bulma furrowed her brow at her father's stuttering. "What?"

He suddenly looked so uncomfortable. "Are you… um… uh,  _sexually active_?"

Bulma cringed at the seemingly clinical term, this was not where she thought this conversation would lead. "Oh! I mean…" she struggled to find the right words. She wanted to be honest with him, that was the whole point of inviting him to ask her about herself. "Like  _ever_? Yes, but like currently? Not really…"

Dr. Briefs caught his face in his hands. "What does that even mean?" he mumbled to himself or her, Bulma wasn't sure. He peeked at her through his fingers. "So, do you.. uhh…  _need anything_?" he asked, his voice begging her to say 'no'.

Bulma could help but burst out laughing at just how tragically awkward this situation had become. "Don't you worry dad, I'm all squared away on talks, pills, and…  _supplies_." They were talking about sex, but she still felt too shy to say the word 'condoms' to her dad.

Dr. Briefs nodded. "And uhh… you're only having…" he hesitated, like he didn't want to say the word, " _that kind of relationship_  with nice boys?"

Oh Kami, just smite her right now.

"Yes, dad. Only nice, respectful boys who get good grades and have ambitions." That description seemed to be enough to relax Dr. Briefs. "Let's be done talking about this," Bulma declared.

"Thank gods," Dr. Briefs mumbled as he returned to his sandwich.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but you could you tell me how you and my father were even together long enough to create me." Vegeta almost laughed, "you're so... so..."

"Cool? Fun?!" she guessed with a grin.

"Loose," he finished gesturing to her with both his hands. She burst out laughing. This was a setup that was becoming more and more common: Vegeta and his mom sitting on the couch in her loft, eating some takeout and talking about anything and everything.

He found himself coming over almost every day for the past week and every time she would welcome him with open arms. There was just something about her, this calming, nonjudgmental aura that had Vegeta talking about his feelings more openly. He found he craved this emotional catharsis because he almost always felt the need to bottle them up.

His mother would probe (sometimes annoyingly) and ask all the right questions that helped him piece together what is was he was feeling and maybe even why.

"I suppose that's a fair adjective. I prefer 'free spirit' or 'creative soul' but whatever," she smiled. "We met in college and had a pretty instant attraction… I'll spare you those details." Vegeta grimaced. Though his existence depended on it, it was just gross to imagine his parents as sexual beings.

"But ultimately we jumped into a relationship without really knowing each other. I think both of us had it in our mind that we could convince each other that our way was the  _right_  way," she sighed. "I was constantly saying that he needed to loosen up and he always told me I needed to be more serious. Then I got pregnant with you and your dad is the kind of guy who wants to do things 'properly' so he asked me to marry him. I mean despite all our issues, it still made sense to me to marry him, so I did."

She grew quiet all of a sudden, her eyes drifted out the window in contemplation. "I know I'm not like a role model or whatever, but…" His mom hesitated a moment then turned back to him, green eyes glimmering in earnest. "If there is one piece of advice you take from me… don't marry, or shit, don't even date somebody who you think you need to  _fix_."

"Things hadn't been great for a while, but we had you, and ya know, we loved you so much... But the reality was ours was a marriage of convenience and well there just came a point when it stopped being convenient," she shrugged. "Your dad got a job at that fancy boarding school upstate, and I just refused to move with him. My whole life, my friends, my career was here in West City."

"I mean, I knew we'd split up eventually, it was just a matter of when... And then he said he wanted to take you with him, I was…" she looked down at her hands, wringing them in her lap, "... _relieved_."

She looked back up at him with wide eyes, realizing how horribly that came out. "Gods, that makes me sound like such a selfish bitch. Veggie, I'm sorry! You gotta understand... I was 21 when I had you. I was on the verge of dropping out of college to start my art career and that whole 'starving artist' honing my craft thing doesn't work if you have a kid and I really wanted you to have a good life, but I wanted to have a good life, too. Doing the things that I was truly passionate about... Is that so wrong?"

Vegeta's gaze fell to the floor, finding it hard to look her in the eye as he shrugged. "I mean, I don't know, I guess not."

For some reason in that moment, the cruel words he yelled at Bulma rang in his mind. ' _At least my dad wants me_.' A new layer of truth emerged within those words. Despite the lectures and the tough love, Vegeta did always feel like his father wanted him, even if his mother secretly didn't. "I turned out fine, I guess," Vegeta mumbled.

"And I knew you would! Your dad was the stable one, and I really thought that's what was best for you. You know, he had called you his  _legacy_ , like you were the heir to his imaginary throne," she cracked a smile at the memory. "Hell, that's part of the reason he insisted we give you his name. I just knew he would take care of you. He loves you so much."

"Just because you knew he would take care of me doesn't excuse your absence," Vegeta heard himself saying. A brutal truth he would've normally kept inside.

His mother grimaced. "I - I know. You deserved more."

"Then why didn't you try?"

"I did!" she whined. "... at least in the beginning." Her voice grew quiet with each word. "When you guys first moved, I did come visit and your dad would bring you to come see me. I was at your 7th birthday party, remember?!" Vegeta slowly blinked at her and she sighed. "But then I got this art apprenticeship abroad and I was away for a few years and it was hard to call. And then by the time I got back… I just… just…"

"Forgot about me?"

"No! Never! Veggie, please. You know I love you."

Vegeta looked down to the floor, he didn't mean for the conversation to take a turn like this. He didn't want to make her feel guilty, they had been having so much fun together. "I think I should leave," he declared as he stood up from the couch.

"Don't go! I'm sorry... about everything, okay?" she jumped up and grabbed his hand. "And you don't need to feel bad for telling me what you think. Even if it makes my heart ache, I want you to be honest with me." Vegeta nodded softly. "I know this has been pretty emotionally charged and that's tough for you, but please stay," his mother said. "If you want, you can paint with me!"

" _Paint_ with you?!" Vegeta questioned, a curious eyebrow raised.

"Yeah it'll be fun! I'll turn on some music and we don't even have to talk anymore."

"I don't know how to paint…"

"Neither do I," she smiled as she pulled him along behind her. The back corner of her loft was full of art supplies and half finished works. She cleared some space and set up two canvases on adjacent easels.

"You can take one of these brushes and do little, tiny stroke or you can just throw globs of paint at it with your hands! Have you seen these floors!? I don't care! Express yourself, paint whatever you're feeling!" she encouraged as she passed him some brushes. "Just don't paint ' _I hate my mom_ ' because that would be really mean, and these are my supplies after all."

Vegeta cracked a smile as she walked away to put on some music. He turned back to his blank canvas and stared at it a moment. Paint what he was  _feeling_?

He peeked over at his mother who was swaying to the music as she loaded paints onto her pallet. He knew she was joking, but he definitely didn't hate her. The truth that his being born had felt like a hindrance on her achieving her own dreams really hurt, but not enough to  _hate her._

Vegeta picked up a medium size brush and settled on a few colors before he began painting strokes at random. Even her absence during some of the most pivotal years of his life wasn't enough to do it. The woman was flakey, but not easily hated.

He found himself wondering if he would be different had she been there for him the last several years. Probably more comfortable with his emotions, that's for sure. But if her influence was there to offset his father's would he have the same priorities he did now?

Vegeta looked down at his pallette, swirling two colors together with his brush. What if she had been the one to raise him completely? Who would he be then?

He found it hard to imagine himself the same as he was now if had he grown up in this environment. It was the age old debate of nature versus nurture. His line of thinking began to upset him, the idea that he was who he was only due to his circumstances gave him an odd sense of powerlessness. He wanted to believe that he was in control of his life and he was the person he chose to be.

When boiled down to its very core, pride had always been his guiding principle. It was why he worked so hard and wanted to be the best, hell, it was probably the reason being vulnerable felt like the end of the world to him. Pride had obviously been trait he had adopted from his father.

So there was really no question, if he lived his life with solely his mother's influence, he would've adopted her same principles. But what did she truly care about? What guided her?

' _It certainly isn't family_.'' Vegeta immediately cringed at the odd sense of disloyalty the thought gave him. He stole a glance at his mother, she was smiling as she stood way too close (in Vegeta's opinion) to her canvas hashing out the tiniest of details. She may not have been committed to her family, but she appeared to be committed to her craft. She seemed to value creative expression, arguably self-improvement.

She was kind of selfish and rather immature, but Vegeta didn't think that made her a bad person, but does having such traits mean that she couldn't be a good parent? His dad was the opposite, responsible, reliable, he always showed up and pushed Vegeta to be his best (though his methods were often harsh). Did that make him a good parent?

What does it really even mean to be a  _good parent_?


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really appreciate your guys' patience since its been taking me longer to post chapters lately! this week I just started graduate school which is very exciting, but will also mean that trend will continue. All your love and comments really do keep me motivated to write so please share your thoughts in the comments! ❤️
> 
> thank you to my beta, [ bitchytimemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchytimemachine/pseuds/bitchytimemachine) who is just so wonderful!

Bulma was making her way to the employee dining room for a coffee when she rounded the corner and spotted Vegeta. She stopped abruptly in the hall, and considered walking back the way she came to avoid their inevitable stare down.

She really could not figure him out. When they first met, he wouldn't shut his trap, always taking an opportunity to jest her. Now his silence was unnerving, she desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. If he was even thinking about her at all…

She mentally chided herself for still being hung up on him.

Bulma nearly jumped when he suddenly looked over at her as if he could sense her presence. He held her stare and Bulma grew annoyed. What was his problem? Didn't anyone ever tell him that staring was rude?!

He seemed surprised, his eyes widening, as she began marching toward him. Bulma didn't say a word as she grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him down the hall.

"Can I help you?" Vegeta snarked, but he didn't put up any resistance.

She opened the first door she saw. Turning the knob, she found it unlocked and shoved him into what appeared to be a supply closet. Vegeta paused a moment, brushing off the nonexistent dust from his clothes and looking both offended and annoyed by her rough treatment. He settled his dark gaze on hers and frowned.

"You need to quit looking at me!" Bulma yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at him. His eyebrows rose at her declaration and she tried to shoved him again, but he caught her by the wrists.

"Do you think I want to look at you!?" he shouted back as she fixed him with a harsh glare. "I don't, okay?! But you're everywhere! In every room, around every corner - Kami! - even when I close my eyes you're fucking there!" Vegeta released her, pushing her back, to run a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"I'm trying — like genuinely trying — to get better about talking about my feelings or whatever, because I want you to know. Ya know? But then I see you and my fucking brain turns to mush. And now that I'm so fucking introspective, I got to ask myself why?" Bulma watched him wordlessly as he gestured wildly. "Why,  _now_ , can I barely talk to you? I feel crazy and I'm trying to decide if it's your absence or your presence that's the cause of my lunacy. It's like, I think I might, like  _love you_ , but at the same time,  _what the fuck_  does that even mean?"

He paused and stared up at the small light that illuminated the closet, taking a deep breath.

Bulma didn't dare interrupt him, instead silently observing the struggle written on his face. Chi Chi had been right, he was hurting just like she had been, both just trying to puzzle together what they shared and what it meant. When his gaze returned to her, his voice was a marginally less manic.

"It's not like I have a good example of romantic love in my life, my parents arguably never even loved each other. So what does that leave me with? Fucking movies? That shit isn't real! So that's where I'm at, okay?! I keep staring at you like a fucking creep because I'm working on trying to tell you how I feel but I haven't even figured that out yet."

There was a heavy silence as they stared at one another.

"You love me?" Bulma asked, blue eyes wide.

"Oh my gods," he grumbled, turning away to hide his reddening cheeks. "Out of everything I just said, you would fixate on that one little word."

"You totally love me!" she teased, a cheesy smile growing on her lips.

He turned back to glare at her, half heartedly. "If loving you is what's making me bat shit crazy then, sure," Vegeta humphed.

Bulma threw her arms around his neck, "crazy in loOove?" she sang. Her bright smile never waning. His hands found purchase on her hips before flipping their position, her back pressed against the supply shelves. The surprise was enough to shake the goofy smile off her face.

"Would you shut up already?" he husked, his voice low. Their lips were so close she could feel his breath on her skin. "You're so annoying."

"But you still love me anyway," she whispered, the teasing grin returning to her lips. His grip on his waist tightened. Vegeta thought back to his conversation with his mother, she had insisted Bulma wouldn't make fun of his feelings. Well, the woman obviously didn't know Bulma.

"Tch."

"So, are you going to kiss me or what?"

Before he could process what she had even said, Bulma pulled him close, and pressed her lips sweetly into his. Suddenly, the tension in his body melted away and his eyes fluttered closed, surrendering himself to her kisses. The soft feeling of her lips against his, the lingering taste of her strawberry chapstick, it felt so familiar. It felt so  _right_.

The way they kissed felt like no time had passed, that none of the hurtful things they said to each other ever happened or at least mattered anymore. She pulled away slightly, their breath was labored from their passionate kiss.

"Me too," she whispered against his lips. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest at her admission and he gave her a small smile in reply.

Their lips found each other once more, slowly growing into something more urgent. Vegeta held her close as his hands roved over her body, kneading and groping her soft curves. Her breathless sighs and soft moans encouraged him. Bulma nipped at his bottom lip before slipping her tongue into his mouth, coaxing his own to play with her.

Her fingers grazed the edges of his collar before taking hold of his top button and unfastening it. The others quickly followed, until Bulma had her hands on the bare skin of his chest. Vegeta growled, the feeling of her hands tracing the ridges of his abs and teasing over his waistband gave him too many ideas.

Vegeta lowered his hands from her ass down her thighs and lifted her up. Reflexively her legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed her back against the wall. Bulma fingers slipped into his hair pulling his lips back to her own. His arousal strained against his dress pants, begging for attention.

Vegeta shifted his hips to rub his hardened member teasingly against her center. "Fuck, I missed you so much," Bulma moaned, gripping his hair tighter. Vegeta only grunted in agreement his mouth too busy kissing up her neck.

Caught in the moment, they didn't hear the knob twisting, but when the door opened and light flooded the small closet, Bulma and Vegeta tore away from each other to stare wide eyed at the intruder.

"Well, Bulma dear, when someone told me you were in the supply closet I hadn't imagined you would be doing something so scandalous," Dr. Briefs said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Dr. Briefs!" Vegeta said with mild horror as he set Bulma down on her own two feet. He had seen the Capsule Corp founder several times in passing, but the chance to introduce himself to the man who actually invented capsule technology hadn't presented itself. Despite the unfortunate setup, Vegeta couldn't help but launch into the speech he had prepared for this moment. "Vegeta Ouji, sir!" he said, sticking his hand out for a shake.

Dr. Briefs humored him, taking Vegeta's hand. "It is such an honor to meet you, sir," he began, still shaking the man's hand enthusiastically. "You are truly a pioneer, I'm so -" Vegeta swallowed his words as Dr. Briefs held up a finger that asked him to wait a moment.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Vegeta Ouji," Dr. Briefs said, "but would you mind if I talk to my daughter alone for a minute?"

Vegeta almost forgot about Bulma in his starstruck state. He peeked over his shoulder at her and she was holding her face in absolute mortification. "Oh, of course, sir! I'm so sorry!"

Dr. Briefs put his hand on Vegeta's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. "No need to apologize, my boy." He turned his gaze to his daughter, who was trying to melt into the supply shelves. "Everyone here seemed to be happily consenting."

"SOMEONE KILL ME!" Bulma screamed into the closet.

Vegeta and Dr. Briefs, both seemed to ignore her pleas. "Oh and don't forget to button your shirt on your way out." Vegeta looked down at his bare chest as if remembering his state of undress for the first time. The heat from his face spread to his ears and down his neck, as he nodded and scurried out of the closet past Bulma's father.

"He seems like a nice, respectful boy, but does he get good grades and have ambitions?" Bulma looked scandalized as her father parroted the criteria she listed for her sex partners.

"DAD!" she shoved her palms into her eyes and groaned. "We weren't having sex in here!" Bulma said in a harsh whisper.

"You could have fooled me," Dr. Briefs said, a teasing smile on his lips. "And in the middle of the work day, no less."

Bulma gawked at him. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Oh, Bulma, dear," her father began. "This is incredibly awkward for me too, but the only way I can endure it is by making it worse for you."

"Congrats, you're succeeding," she whined.

"You can be done with work for today, if you like," Dr. Briefs said as he left the closet.

"Yeah I think I'll do that," she answered with a sigh.

"Oh and Bulma?" her father said, glancing over his shoulder. Bulma raised a brow in acknowledgement. "Try not to get that boy into trouble with his supervisors."

"I won't! This was a one time thing!" she cried after him, but he just gave her a little wave, as if he didn't quite believe that.

* * *

Vegeta sat down on the front steps outside his mother's loft, his phone pressed to his ear as he called her a second time.

"Veggie!" she greeted happily, "what's going on?"

"Hey, I'm at your place. I'd tried buzzing you but there wasn't any answer. I had some stuff I wanted to tell you about... developments with Bulma."

"Oh I'm sorry, honey, I'm not home right now," she said. Vegeta paused, he'd been coming over regularly the past week and she was always home. She lived and worked in the same place, where else would she go?

"Well, are you going to be home soon? I could wait," he offered.

"I'm actually on a little impromptu vacation with my friends out of the country… but I totally want to hear your news! What happened?" He could tell by her voice and the noises in the background that she was distracted.

Vegeta felt a sudden pang of disappointment, though he knew them to exist, he hadn't really thought about her friends. He had gotten so used to her individual and sincere attention that he didn't realize how much he didn't want to share her.

"Um, you know what? It can wait," he finally replied. "When are you coming home?"

She hesitated, then talked to someone in the background. "I'm not really sure yet, we haven't decided, but definitely before my gallery showing next Friday." Vegeta found himself annoyed, only his ' _free spirited_ ' mother would go on a vacation without pre-determined dates.

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed, "you should totally invite Bulma! Then I can meet her!"

"Oh, uh. Yeah, I could talk to her about it," he said nervously. Inviting Bulma would ultimately lead him to having to explain his mother to her, both her absence all this time and her personality.

"It'll be so much fun! Ok well, I have to go now, but I'll talk to you real soon!" his mother blew two kisses into the phone, "Ciao!" Then hung up before he could say anything more.

Vegeta sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. Bulma meeting his mother… now that would surely be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter! [ @vegebul_soup ](https://twitter.com/vegebul_soup)


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